Economic, Socio-Political and Environmental Risks of Road Development in the Tropics

Abstract

It is projected that 25 million km of new paved roads will be developed globally by 2050 - enough to encircle the planet more than 600 times. Roughly 90% of new roads will be built in developing nations, frequently in tropical and subtropical regions with high biodiversity and environmental values. Many developing nations are borrowing from international lenders or negotiating access to their natural resources in order to expand their transportation infrastructure. Given the unprecedented pace and extent of these initiatives, it is vital to thoroughly assess the potential consequences of large-scale road and highway projects. In appropriate contexts and locales, new roads can promote sizeable economic and social benefits. If poorly planned or implemented, however, new roads can provoke serious cost overruns, corruption and environmental impacts, while generating sparse economic benefits and intense social and political conflict. Using examples from developing nations, we identify risks that can hinder road projects in wet and dry tropical environments. Such risks, we assert, are often inadequately considered by project proponents, evaluators and the general public, creating a systematic tendency to overestimate project benefits while understating project risks. A more precautionary approach is needed to reduce risks while maximizing benefits of new road projects in the tropics.

Consequences of global shipping traffic for marine giants

“…; Alamgir et al . ) – to highlight how current understanding of road ecology in terrestrial environments may be applied to improve the understanding of marine environments, and in particular impacts upon marine giants. These terrestrial road impacts were chosen as most analogous to the potential impacts of marine roads on the marine environment.…”

“…This is because the emergence of "road ecology" as a discipline originated from attempts to understand the unintended effects of roads on terrestrial ecosystems (Forman et al 2003). Road ecology focuses on both the direct and indirect impacts of roads by investigating the relationships between road systems and adjacent environments (Coffin 2007), and has been used to identify a number of road-related consequences for terrestrial wildlife (Alamgir et al 2017;Laurance and Burgues 2017). For example, roads may directly impact terrestrial wildlife via physical contact (roadkill) or by creating barriers to animal movement, and indirectly by causing wildlife to modify their behavior to avoid roads (Alamgir et al 2017).…”

“…Road ecology focuses on both the direct and indirect impacts of roads by investigating the relationships between road systems and adjacent environments (Coffin 2007), and has been used to identify a number of road-related consequences for terrestrial wildlife (Alamgir et al 2017;Laurance and Burgues 2017). For example, roads may directly impact terrestrial wildlife via physical contact (roadkill) or by creating barriers to animal movement, and indirectly by causing wildlife to modify their behavior to avoid roads (Alamgir et al 2017). Roads also facilitate the expansion of human activity into formerly remote areas, hastening the introduction of anthropogenic impacts (eg pollution, hunting) into previously unaffected environments (Laurance et al 2009).…”

“…In this review, we focus on four road impacts -(1) physical disturbances, (2) modification of animal behavior, (3) chemical pollution, and (4) roads as fragmenting features (Table 1; Forman et al 2003;Alamgir et al 2017) -to highlight how current understanding of road ecology in terrestrial environments may be applied to improve the understanding of marine environments, and in particular impacts upon marine giants. These terrestrial road impacts were chosen as most analogous to the potential impacts of marine roads on the marine environment.…”

“…For example, roads may directly impact terrestrial wildlife via physical contact (roadkill) or by creating barriers to animal movement, and indirectly by causing wildlife to modify their behavior to avoid roads (Alamgir et al . ). Roads also facilitate the expansion of human activity into formerly remote areas, hastening the introduction of anthropogenic impacts (eg pollution, hunting) into previously unaffected environments (Laurance et al .…”