1	Project name	Ecoduct near Kootwijk in the Netherlands
		Photo: Hans Bekker, Road and Hydraulic Engineering Division, the Netherlands
2	Keywords	habitat fragmentation, mitigation measures, ecoduct
3	Start of project	1998
4	End of project	The ecoduct is in operation
5	Address of contact person	Contact person: : Annette Piepers Coordinator of the Netherlands for the Infra Eco Network Europe (IENE) Road and Hydraulic Engineering Division Box 5044 2600 GA Delft The Netherlands Phone: +31152518472 Website: http://www.iene.info E-mail: a.a.g.piepers@dww.rws.minvenw.nl
6	Short project description / project function	Faunapassage crossing a 4-lane motorway in the Netherlands. Seen from above the ecoduct has the shape of an hour glass. At the entrances it is 80 meters wide, whereas in the middle the width is 30 meters. The dimensions are based on the use by red deer. The length of the ecoduct is 150 meters. On the edges of the ecoduct walls are constructed in order to reduce traffic disturbance. The walls are one meter and a half in height and planted with trees and shrubs. In the middle part a more open vegetation is planned. In this way possibilities for passage are created for both fauna species of forests and fauna species of heath land and drifting sand area. The overall impact of infrastructure on natural environments is termed fragmentation: the partition of ecosystems and/or habitats of plant and animal populations into smaller, more isolated units. Infrastructure is one of the main causes of habitat fragmentation. The consequences include destruction of habitats due to road building, injury or killing of animals by traffic, disturbance, and its negative effects on animals due to noise, light and movement. These impacts can reduce the chances of survival of populations of individual species and can influence essential ecosystem processes due to isolation, subpopulations can become separated; likewise, feeding and breeding habitats can become separated. The viability of a population decreases. These aspects may have a strong negative effect on the ecological value of habitats. Activities to mitigate habitat fragmentation caused by infrastructure are presently embedded in the policy of different countries. In order to counteract fragmentation different possibilities exist: badger tunnels/pipes, tunnels for amphibians, ecopipes, ecoducts, joint use of constructions.
7	Summary of experiences	The ecoduct near Kootwijk is used by various terrestrial mammals, such as common shrew, wood mouse, roe deer, white-toothed shrew, pine marten, wild boar, field vole, red deer. During the last decades, different provisions for fauna passages have been successfully implemented in a lot of countries in Europe. For more information see the website of the Infra Eco Network Europe: http://www.iene.info
8	Project benefits	Contribution to conservation of biodiversity.
9	Project level	Full scale
10	Financial scale	The building costs were approximately 3 million Euro.
11	Environmental conditions	Atlantic climate, temperate.
12	Altitude	40 m
13	Description of special local conditions	The ecoduct is situated over an existing motorway that dissects the largest nature reserve in the Netherlands "De Veluwe” in two parts.
	Author: Anette Piepers. Updated Dec. 2, 2002