The strategy on the future of vegetation control has been released under the supervision of the Sustainable Land Use Network (SLU), which is part of the UIC Environment Energy and Sustainability Platform.
As project coordinator, UIC has been collaborating with IZT (Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment) to study a transition strategy from a single method-based concept (i.e. spraying of conventional chemical herbicides) to an integrated, flexible, multi-method-based herbicide-free approach. Moreover, UIC SLU Network has been facilitating knowledge exchange on best practice for vegetation management topics for railways since 2017.
Since the start of the TRISTRAM project in 2019, the SLU Network, as part of its collaboration with IZT, has just published a Strategy on the Future of Vegetation Control. This publication highlights the key information on the future of integrated vegetation control for the European Railways.
The railway stakeholders and infrastructure managers have been pioneering actors in the field of land use management. The objective of the UIC Strategy on the Future of Vegetation Control is therefore to promote innovation and develop activities of common interest in the field of vegetation control without conventional chemical herbicides.
This strategy paper intends to help railway stakeholders to understand and evaluate the interplay between strategic plans and their practical implementation.
The main subjects addressed in this publication concern:
- Optimisation of herbicide use
- Alternative methods
- Standardisation
- New contracts
- Application technologies
- IT tools
The UIC Strategy on the Future of Vegetation Control is henceforth available on the UIC Sustainable Land Use Network webpage:
https://uic.org/sustainable-development/environment/sustainable-land-use
If you wish to participate in the TRISTRAM project please visit https://uic.org/events/tristram-knowledge-exchange
