2017 - World Bank - Integrating Climate Change to Road Asset Management

The road sector represents a significant asset to any country – both in terms of the physical cost to build it, and the social and economic benefits that it facilitates. Internationally accepted good practice is that the road asset should be appropriately managed through formal asset management techniques such as those laid out under the ISO55000 standard, the International Infrastructure Management Manual, or similar guidelines   While these standards and guidelines all permit the inclusion of climate change impacts into the asset management practices, there is little specific guidance on how to do so with the result being that many road authorities are still working in a business-as-usual mode.

Climate change, for whatever the cause, has the potential to be a serious disruptor to business-as-usual thinking for many of the most vulnerable countries in the world. The impacts of climate change are two-fold, with medium-long term changes in the average indicators (rainfall, temperature etc.) along with an increase in the occurrence of shock events such as large floods. With the past not being a good indicator of the future with regard to climate change, many of the asset management practices need to be refined to ready road authorities in advance of; during; and after climate change events.

This report describes asset management practices should be modified to prepare a road authority for climate change – ranging from modifications of high level policy statements; through to the maintenance of key assets. The key finding is that climate change is best integrated to asset management by being prepared for climate events, rather than through response plans. Not all of the recommended changes are applicable to all road authorities, and for some of the most vulnerable road networks it may be necessary to go beyond the level of effort recommended. However, application of the principles advocated here will ensure road authorities are prepared to address the challenges of climate change in managing their infrastructure.