AsETWG Projects and Activities

To urgently protect Asian elephants, the working group deploys targeted expertise at site-specific locations, engages at regional and national policy levels, and coordinates and leverages actions across the 13 range states. The following objectives and activities are currently underway:

Objective 1: Increase the membership of the IUCN WCPA and SSC cross-commission Asian Elephant Transport Working Group (AsETWG) to catalyze partnerships that support impactful research and inform policy throughout range states

Activity 1.1 – Increase membership by at least 25% and ensure geographic representation in all 13 range states through continued recruitment and operation of the AsETWG membership system and internal communication platform.
Activity 1.2 – Organize quarterly virtual meetings of members to continue regular knowledge sharing about critical issues, engage in project activities, and coordinate practical assistance.

Objective 2: Increase public understanding about the effects of LTI on Asian elephants and engage stakeholders to enhance the scientific and policy basis for avoiding and mitigating threats to Asian elephants and their habitats

Activity 2.1 – Maintain and enhance the AsETWG website serving as a leading source of information about impacts, research, and technical and policy solutions for reducing the impacts of LTI on Asian elephants.
Activity 2.2 – Expanding from the recently-published AsETWG report “Protecting Asian Elephants from Linear Transport Infrastructure – An Introduction to the Challenges and Solutions”, create a subsequent series of at least five easily digestible and thematically focused educational materials accessible to all stakeholders.
Activity 2.3 – Based on established reporting systems and templates for the standardization, collection, and sharing of information, increase compilation of case studies of effective LTI avoidance and mitigation measures for Asian elephants.
Activity 2.4 – Conduct a survey to understand the current capacity for non-governmental organizations, international financial institutions, LTI industry professionals, and governments and ministries in Asia to implement safeguards to protect Asian elephants from the threats of LTI.

Objective 3: Develop the capacity of practitioners to avoid and mitigate the impacts of LTI on Asia elephants

Activity 3.1 – Based on available and new high-quality data, undertake spatial analysis projects to create avoidance maps for evaluating the potential impacts of planned infrastructure, such as the Belt and Road Initiative and additional road and railway development, on elephant movement behavior.
Activity 3.2 – Produce a review of the Asian Development Bank’s 2019 “Green Infrastructure Design for Transport Projects: A Road Map to Protecting Asia’s Wildlife Biodiversity” and its application to Asian elephant conservation.
Activity 3.3 – Compile a matrix covering all 13 range states to highlight the major LTI threats and impacts, the number of mitigation measures in place, methodologies being applied, their effectiveness, and applicable laws and policies, and responsible authorities.
Activity 3.4 – Undertake and publish a systematic literature review and prioritization of emerging technologies and promising mitigation measures that have the potential to reduce elephant mortality from wildlife-vehicle collisions.
Activity 3.5 – Synthesize and publish information about the impacts of the Belt and Road Initiative and other large-scale infrastructure projects on Asian elephants, core habitats, and ecological corridors to inform better policies for investment, planning, construction, and management of LTI development in elephant habitats.
Activity 3.6 – Create a preliminary “Asian Elephants and Linear Transportation Handbook” providing existing, available, and experimental mitigation options as a “toolbox of solutions”. This will include recommendations for best-practices in policy, planning, and design that can be deployed by protected area managers, ministry and agency personnel, transport practitioners and research institutions, financial lenders and the private sector, and local communities and non-governmental organizations to better protect Asian elephants and their habitats from LTI
Activity 3.7 – Conduct multiple training and workforce development workshops, using an existing format produced by the Center. At least three training workshops will be conducted in person with partners in Malaysia, India, and Sri Lanka.

State	Year	Policy	Description
New Hampshire	2026	SB592	Enables regional, conservation, and energy resource planning for habitat strongholds and wildlife corridors
New Hampshire	2019	SB200	Requires the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to consider fish and wildlife crossings and mitigation measures in all future road and culvert projects
New Hampshire	2016	SB376	Requires the fish and game department to identify existing and needed wildlife corridors connecting wildlife habitats in the state and to make recommendations for legislative changes

State	Year	Policy	Description
Maine	2023	LD258	Appropriates $7.5 million to Department of Transportation to improve roadways with potential adaptations for wildlife
Maine	2023	LD1881	Establishes compensation fee program relating to fish and wildlife habitats and associated corridors, including compensation paid by solar energy development
Maine	2023	LD508	Requires Department of Environmental Protection to review its permitting laws concerning climate change, habitat connectivity, ecological resilience, and coastal environments

State	Year	Policy	Description
New Jersey	2025	S3618	Directs state agencies to develop a Wildlife Corridor Action Plan
New Jersey	2024	S3916/A5486	Expands eligibility for existing wildlife fencing programs by including farmers leasing farmland
New Jersey	2007	NJAC7:13	Requires the state to incorporate wildlife crossings or a natural bank for terrestrial threatened and endangered species and/or species of concern when a new bridge or culvert project would cause habitat fragmentation

State	Year	Policy	Description
New Mexico	2023	SB72	Appropriates money to new Wildlife Corridors Fund for implementation of wildlife crossing projects under New Mexico Wildlife Corridor Action Plan
New Mexico	2022	HB 2	Allocates funding for projects to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and allows the Department of Transportation and Department of Game to implement their Wildlife Corridors Action Plan
New Mexico	2019	SB 228	Requires the creation of a Wildlife Corridor Action Plan that includes comprehensive guidance to agencies for identifying, prioritizing and maintaining important areas for wildlife movement

State	Year	Policy	Description
Washington	2023	HB1216/SB5196	Requires Department of Ecology to prepare environmental impact statements for clean energy projects that consider impacts to habitat connectivity and wildlife migration corridors
Washington	2022	SB5689	Provides funding for US 97 Wildlife Crossing Improvements project
Washington	2019	SEO 1031.02	Recognizes the effect of roadways in creating barriers to wildlife movement, breeding, and migrations; the Washington State Department of Transportation will promote and support Practical Solutions and Planning and Environmental Linkages to integrate habitat connectivity and biodiversity plans; will make use of the highway prioritization map known as Habitat Connectivity Investment Priorities; and will corporate and coordinate with other agencies involved in wildlife habitat protection, specifically along highways

State	Year	Policy	Description
Wyoming	2026	SF0052	Allocates funds for restoration of aquatic habitats including barrier removal for fish
Wyoming	2025	SF0088	Allocates funds for projects improving wildlife connectivity including fence removal, wildlife crossings improvements, and habitat restoration
Wyoming	2024	SF0060	Provides funds to help maintain primary migration corridors for ungulates in the Little Snake River Conservation District
Wyoming	2023	SF0106	Provides funds for large wildlife crossing projects across the state
Wyoming	2022	SF0048	Approves funding for specific wildlife crossings and aquatic connectivity initiatives
Wyoming	2021	SF066	Provides funds for large wildlife crossing projects across the state
Wyoming	2020	EO 1	Designates three mule deer migration corridors and establishes the process whereby future corridors can be designated
Wyoming	2020	HB 69	Establishes a system wherein funding from outdoor recreation can be appropriated for wildlife conservation efforts related to the state’s transportation system
Wyoming	2018	HB39	Proceeds from the newly established wildlife conservation license plates are allocated to wildlife connectivity improvements to the state transportation system

State	Year	Policy	Description
Vermont	2023	Act59	Vermont's 30x30 law that commits to conserving and maintaining an ecologically functional landscape that sustains biodiversity and maintains landscape connectivity
Vermont	2016	Act 171	Primarily focuses on timber harvesting regulations, but calls for a study of necessary revisions to planning statutes that protect contiguous areas of forestland from fragmentation and promote habitat connectivity between forestlands

State	Year	Policy	Description
Colorado	2026	SB141	Creates optional collision prevention fee to fund wildlife safe passage projects
Colorado	2025	HB1093	Restricts local limits on residential density unless offset elsewhere, exempts areas near wildlife crossings, and allows municipalities to seek judicial review of land use initiatives
Colorado	2023	SB 23-092	Encourages minimal impacts to wildlife migration corridors when constructing solar panel farms
Colorado	2023	SB 214	Appropriates funding to the Colorado Wildlife Safe Passages Fund for wildlife crossing projects
Colorado	2022	SB22-151	Creates a $5 million fund for measures that reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and reconnect habitat fragmented by roads
Colorado	2022	HB22-1072	Expands the scope of Habitat Partnership Program to fund efforts to conserve wildlife migration
Colorado	2021	SJR 21-021	Aims to protect and enhance habitat connectivity in the state through the establishment of a working group to develop state policies on corridors, as well as the commission of a report on state corridors and voluntary policies to support willing landowners in improving connectivity
Colorado	2019	EO 11	Directs Colorado agencies to identify policy, regulatory, and legislative opportunities to ensure the ongoing conservation of seasonal big game habitat and migration corridors
Colorado	2018	SB 18-143	States explicit goals for Division of Parks and Wildlife to invest in habitat conservation and wildlife crossings

State	Year	Policy	Description
California	2026	SB1250	Requires the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to include wildlife connectivity corridors and needs into its infrastructure project planning
California	2024	AB1889	Requires counties and municipalities to conserve wildlife corridors when planning new developments
California	2023	AB1760	Calls for a statewide analysis of wildlife corridors and connectivity to support conservation planning and climate change adaptation activities.
California	2023	SB145	Outlines provisions for transportation-related environmental mitigation, including funding for wildlife corridors, property and credit purchases for mitigation, reporting requirements, and mandates for wildlife crossings along Interstate 15.
California	2023	SB101	Provides funding for wildlife corridors and open spaces, including projects to improve connectivity and reduce barriers between habitat areas.
California	2022	AB2344	Establishes a state program to address roads with high wildlife-vehicle collisions, authorizes Caltrans to develop standalone wildlife connectivity projects, mandates an inventory and prioritization system for critical areas, and requires integration of wildlife passage features into relevant road designs.
California	2022	AB1384	Requires agencies to address vulnerabilities in Safeguarding California Plans, including protecting and enhancing wildlife corridors
California	2021	SB790	Approves compensatory mitigation credits for wildlife connectivity actions
California	2021	AB1183	Establishes the California Desert Conservation Program to protect biodiversity, including the protection and enhancement of habitat connectivity
California	2021	AB128	Appropriates funding for wildlife crossing projects, including the Liberty Canyon crossing for mountain lions
California	2015	AB 498	Amends the California Fish and Game Code to encourage, wherever feasible, voluntary steps to protect the functioning of wildlife corridors
California	2014	AB1471	Provides funds to the Sacramento- San Joaquin Delta Conservancy, in part to protect and restore aquatic, wetland, and migratory bird ecosystems including corridors.
California	2008	AB2785	Orders Dept. of Fish & Wildlife to investigate, study, and identify key wildlife corridors and linkages within the state, and to make those areas public