A plea for a worldwide development of dark infrastructure for biodiversity – Practical examples and ways to go forward

Artificial light at night (ALAN) has been massively deployed worldwide and become a major environmental pressure for biodiversity, especially contributing to habitat loss landscape fragmentation. To mitigate these latter, green blue infrastructure policies have developed throughout the world based on concept of ecological networks, set suitable interconnected habitats. However, currently, nature conservation hardly consider adverse effects ALAN. Here, we promote integration darkness quality within 'green infrastructure', implement ‘dark infrastructure’. Dark should be identified, preserved restored different territorial levels guarantee continuities where its rhythms are as natural possible. For this purpose, propose an operational 4-steps process that includes 1) Mapping pollution in all forms dimensions relation 2) Identifying dark starting or not from already identified green/blue infrastructure, 3) Planning actions preserve restore by prioritizing lighting sobriety only energy saving, 4) Assessing effectiveness with appropriate indicators. projects created (for example France Switzerland) can serve case studies both urban areas. The deployment raises many methodological questions stresses some knowledge gaps still need addressed, such exhaustive mapping characterization sensitivity thresholds model species.