IRF Conference Roads and Environment 5-6 Feb 2007

Vernier Geneva, Switzerland – The 1st IRF Conference on
“Roads and the Environment” will be held 5-6 February 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland. This initiative will bring together specialists in sustainable development,
urban planning, environment, road constructions, infrastructure planner
and scientists and government representatives to debate the influence of
the road on the environment and to examine how to reduce its harmful
impact.

Policy makers and practitioners will discuss/debate the transport sector,
acknowledging the social role and environmental consequences of transport. Environmental nuisances should primarily be combated at the source, and efficient efforts require
holistic solutions across conventional boundaries and sectors. Efforts centred on ensuring – from
society’s point of view – an optimum utilisation of the entire transport system – including the best
possible interaction between different transport forms.

The objective of the conference is not to justify road development, but to face the challenges and
to find ways to address them. We intend this conference to be the first in a series, identifying the
problems created in the Western countries by current road and traffic development and to help
emerging countries to avoid making the same mistakes by sharing practical experience.

We also plan to hold a round table discussion open to the general public on “How to make
the environment a practical concern in industrialised and emerging countries?”

The main issues addressed during this conference are:

• Advanced design and production techniques leading to improved quality, safety, recyclability, comfort and cost-effectiveness;
• New technologies and concepts for surface transport, including novel propulsion systems, as for example fuel cells;
• Rebalancing, integration and interoperability of different modes of transport, in particular at urban and regional level;
• Increased safety and reduced traffic congestion, in particular in urban areas, by means of electronic and telematic solutions and advanced satellite navigation systems.

Information
Detailed Programme www.irfnet.org

About IRF
The International Road Federation is a non-for-profit
worldwide federation of public and private entities promoting
road development to improve the socio-economic
benefits. Its membership extends across more than 87
countries and six continents. Members come from consulting,
engineering and planning, construction, highway
concessions and operation, equipment manufacturing,
universities and research institutes, road directorates and
ministries in charge of transportation infrastructure and
communications. The IRF firmly believe that efficient, well-maintained road
networks contribute significantly, not only to economic
growth and prosperity, but also to social development.
IRF engages in road safety and ecologically friendly planning,
building and use of the road.