Why Transport in Mountains?

Communities living in mountainous areas of developing countries can face exhausting, time-consuming and often dangerous journeys to access basic public services such as health care and education or to take their produce to market.

The scope of potential transport solutions in mountainous terrain is broad,  encompassing infrastructure from rural roads, through ropeways and bridges to tracks and trails. Means of transport vary from aircraft, through motorised vehicles and pack animals to human porterage. 

The provision and maintenance of viable transport systems is often a source of contention, with both positives and negatives identified for solutions in different contexts.  Such controversy is particularly observed in mountainous terrain where maintaining a balance between human development and preservation of the environment is critical.

This workshop aims to highlight and explore these controversial issues in an attempt to identify good practice for policy makers and practitioners.  Through lively debate, workshop participants will have the opportunity to share the controversies they are dealing with in their own country context and learn from the experiences of others.

What do we mean by Controversial Issues?

No limit is placed on the types of issues that can be discussed. As a starting point the following four themes have been developed. Controversies are expected both within and between themes, but not limited to the following:

Type of Transport

Motorized Transport vs. Non-motorized (Traditional) Means of Transport
‘Bull-dozed’ Roads vs. ‘Labor-intensive Based’ Roads
Trails vs. Village Roads
Bridges vs. Tuins
Rural Roads Vs. Ropeways

Natural Impediments

Transport Infrastructures vs. Meandering of Rivers.
Building Infrastructures by Laypersons vs. Landslides.
Planning / Construction by Communities vs. Tremors.
Transport Infrastructures vs. a fragile ECO system

Human Attributes

Temporary Income resulting from employment on the Infrastructure vs. long term family income.
Social fabric vs. types of transport interventions
Centrally vs. Community Planned Infrastructures
Urbanization vs. Nurturing Traditions.
Local vs. Foreign Financial Support (donor driven?)

Opportunities

Transport of Commodities creating pollution vs. Attracting Tourism.
New Income Opportunities from Transport Linkage vs. Loss of Income for Human Carriers and end Petty Traders.
Transport vs. National Parks and Reserves

Considering all influencing factors is impractical for which reason Economists tend to focus on a selection of factors thus resulting in a skewed assessment. The Workshop is thus to address the underlying factors rather than selective economics.

Expected Workshop Outcomes

  1. The primary outcome of the workshop will be an increased awareness by professionals of potential controversies that are likely to arise when planning infrastructures enabling transport in mountains.  Awareness vis à vis the underprivileged thereby mitigating social injustices or even social and political unrests are of particular interest. This awareness is ultimately to be reflected in planning as well as policy making.

  2. Identification of knowledge and policy gaps and recommendations on how to address these issues.

  3. Dissemination of the workshop proceedings and synopsis.

  4. Post workshop action plan for further research, mutual learning and dissemination.



 

 

 

Transport in Mountains
An International Workshop
21-27 November 2010
Kathmandu,
Nepal

 

Contact Us:

IFRTD,
CAN Mezzanine
49-51 East Road
N1 6AH
London

Tel: +44(0) 207 7250 8323,
Fax: +44 (0) 207 7250 8322,
Email: info@ifrtd.org

International Workshop on Transport in Mountains,
NFRTD,
c/o Trail Bridge Support Unit/ Helvetas Nepal
Pulchowk, Lalitpur, Kathmandu.
Nepal
Tel: +977-1-2111 225
Fax: +977-1-5526 829