Environmental Impact Assessment of Forest Roads using the Goecybernetic Assessment Matrix (GAM): A case study from the Kheyrud forest, Iran

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been recognized as an analysis of the impacts that a project can impose on the environment, with the purpose of balancing the positive and negative impacts of the project. Forest road construction is one of the costliest and most important projects that its outcomes need to be evaluated because of being involved in the development of different forestry operations. The purpose of the current study was to assess the environmental impacts of a road network in the Kheyrud forest (Hyrcanian forest), in northern Iran, at three stages including before, during, and after the road construction phase. We used Geocybernetic Assessment Matrix (GAM) criteria listed scores by using the views of experts who have observed the problems associated with road construction in three stages. By applying this method, a suitable tool is obtained to ensure that the project is properly implemented or should be stopped. It can be a method of determining, predicting and interpreting the environmental, social and economic impacts of road construction on the whole environment and the health of the ecosystems on which human life and sustainability depend. The results indicated that the total geocybernetic score was in the range of 0 to -121 (very weak unsustainability) for before, during and after road construction, indicating that although road construction in the Kheyrud forest had negative impacts on the environment especially during the construction phase, social and economic services, especially after road construction, have left the total geocybernetic score in that range.