Method of Construction Projects’ Classification for Habitat Assessment in Poland and the Problem of Choosing Materials Solutions

Abstract

The planning stage plays a key role in the success of each construction project. It also pertains to projects implementedin the Natura 2000 areas that cover ca. 18% of the total land area in the EU. Permission for the realization of such a project is issued after an analysis of its environmental impact on the Natura 2000 area. An important part of the analysis undertaken as part of a habitat assessment should be the evaluation of proposed material solutions. The research has revealed that habitat assessments in Poland do not fulfill this postulation. The decision-making process is based on the legal qualification criteria, and the fundamental importance in it has a precautionary principle. Practical realization of this principle demonstrates, however, shortcomings in its methodology. The article presents the results of two research stages. In the first stage, the documentation of 292 construction projects was examined in order to prepare the principal components of a checklist. They are correlated to the legal qualification criteria. However, they are more precise and systematic. In the second stage of the research, a survey of 47 experts was performed, and the result of the research is an innovative module of the checklist for qualification of construction projects to the habitat assessment, including questions on materials solutions. The research has proved that introduction of this proposal to the checklist may improve the quality of habitat assessments, increase their trustworthiness and ensure full exploitation of the possibilities which are given by the use of uniform research methods.