Better access helps reduce rural poverty by lowering transport costs and opening up health, education, markets and other services. The core access problem is not about the limited extent, low standard, poor condition or lack of maintenance of rural roads. For roads cannot assist the poor unless accompanied by complementary development inputs.

A report by IT Transport, commissioned by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) shows that reducing rural isolation is not just a transport sector issue, but a key component of the entire rural development process.

Poor people in Asia have inadequate access to the goods, resources, social facilities, services and opportunities that they could utilise and exploit to improve their livelihoods. This includes credit, technology, communications and information. More must be done to make the movements of rural people and their goods cheaper, faster, more reliable and less of a physical burden.

Planners need to move away from the current focus on highways – and the quality and length of completed trunk roads – and do more to improve the unclassified roads, tracks, paths and waterways that connect villages.  They should recognise the extensive use of walking and various forms of intermediate means of transport (IMT) – bicycles, rickshaws, motor tricycles, small diesel-engined vehicles, bullock carts and donkeys.

The report points out that:

• Two thirds of poor rural Asians are women: their needs for improved accessibility, like those of ethnic minorities and lower castes, are often overlooked in development programmes due to their lack of voice.
• Most ADB transport sector operations have been for major highways and have not addressed the over-arching objective of poverty reduction.
• Road projects are often uncoordinated; different ministries, donors and lenders do not align their objectives, procedures and arrangements for maintenance and financial sustainability.
• The central and local government institutions responsible for rural infrastructure and rural development are often weak and under-resourced.

Higher levels of the transport system can function adequately without good rural accessibility but not vice versa. Improved rural accessibility should form part of broader, poverty-targeted, national transport and rural development policies. Action is needed to address corruption in local administration and infrastructure construction and change the patterns of patronage which often result in roads primarily benefiting the better-off.

Rural accessibility interventions supported by the ADB must be designed in coordination with communities and other lenders and donors. They must include the appropriate location of schools, markets, clinics and other public facilities as well as facilitating the mobile delivery of private and public sector services.

The report also urges the ADB to:

• work more closely with local government and help boost its capacity
• ensure the views of women and other marginalised groups are incorporated into the participatory identification of priorities for investment in improved access
• promote bottom-up, community-led planning of improvements to paths, tracks and other local-level infrastructure
• encourage the private sector – especially small local firms – to build and maintain infrastructure
• improve district and feeder roads within overall local development plans
• ensure that roads include speed control measures, are not over-designed, do not cause erosion or loss of trees, and are suitable for slow-moving intermediate means of transport, such as bicycles.

Source(s):
‘Rural Accessibility in the Asia and Pacific Region: a Transport Strategy for Sustainable Development’, IT Transport Limited, January 2007 (PDF) Full document.

Funded by: Asian Development Bank

id21 Research Highlight: 29 June 2008

Further Information:
I. T. Transport Limited
The Old Power Station
Ardington
Wantage
Oxfordshire OX12 8QJ
UK

Tel: +44 1235 833753
Fax: +44 1235 832186
Contact the contributor: itt@ittransport.co.uk

I. T. Transport Limited, Wantage, UK

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