Dear colleagues,

This is the electronic news bulletin of the Mobility desk within the Social Development Division of SDC. We are sending this message to people who we believe are involved in transport related subjects and initiatives. Subscription issues for this twice yearly mailing are handled at www.skat.ch/transweb/news.htm.

Your needs are our concern: please participate in the "FOCUS ON MOBILITY" reader satisfaction survey online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=945941363579 - thank you!

This medium lives through interaction. You are invited to send us your suggestions, requests and information flashes to mailto:transweb@skat.ch. The editors are grateful for any contributions received!

Contents:

5th issue of the SDC "FOCUS ON MOBILITY" newsletter

Since late 2003, the Mobility desk within the Social Development Division of SDC issues its electronic news bulletin "Focus on mobility". The "Focus" provides twice yearly information on relevant news, current issues and trends, SDC project milestones, recommended reading, upcoming events as well as relevant web pages in the transport sector. It is sent out to about 230 subscribers worldwide, being SDC as well as other Swiss and international sector practitioners, who are interested or directly involved in transport related subjects and initiatives. Together with this 5th issue, the "Focus" team would like to sense the reader's satisfaction and gain better insight on the audience's needs in order to tailor further the concept of the newsletter. You may personally contribute to the further development of the "Focus on Mobility" by answering the online questionnaire at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=945941363579 . Thank you for your time.

For accessing the former issues and for subscription matters, please visit www.skat.ch/transweb/news.htm.

9th TransNet event - "Looking back and forward" (15.04.05, SDC, Bern)

11 TransNet members participated in this regular meeting of the network, which dealt, in the first part, with the issue: "TransNet - the way forward". TransNet was born in 1999 as an informal group with the aim to establish a network of CH - based professionals dedicated to the promotion of sustainable transport infrastructure practices. 8 events were organized so far, originally strongly focussing on transport infrastructure, but through the broadening of the scope of SDC going later into more cross-sectoral issues (poverty, gender, health). After more than 5 years of existence, it was indicated to review the status and relevance of the network through personal assessments of the group's achievements and the benefits retained, whilst collecting expectations for the future and ideas for the way forward. It was e.g. found that the TransNet needs smaller, flexible and more adapted events. Whilst face-to-face meetings should remain, other ways of communication and exchange will be explored further.

In the second part of the event, the findings of a strategic assessment of the long-standing SDC cooperation with the Department of Roads of Nepal within the "Strengthened Maintenance Division Programme" (SMDP) were presented. The SMDP was initiated in 1993 and since developed, established and gradually expanded to the 25 Road Divisions a maintenance management system suitable for the planned maintenance of the entire strategic road network of Nepal (about 5000 km).

For more details, see the meeting report at http://www.skat.ch/transweb/transnet/events.htm#current or contact the TransNet by mailto:transweb@skat.ch

Networked research on "Mobility and Health" launched

The significant contributions of transport and mobility to development and the livelihoods of poor people are widely recognized. However, the development sector is yet to fully acknowledge and understand the role of transport in improving poor people's health. As mobility and transport can have both positive and negative impacts on people's health, the participants of a recent SDC supported TransNet workshop agreed that in order to optimise the health potentials of activities that improve mobility, the sector must thoroughly assess the knowledge gaps, make steps to share existing research and generate new knowledge to fill the gaps. In the strive to meet the Millennium Development Goals, a better understanding of the relationship between transport and health becomes a priority. The transport sector needs to be more proactive in sensitising the health sector to the importance of mobility as a crosscutting component of improved health interventions.

Against this backdrop, SDC's mobility desk has agreed to support an initial phase of an international networked research programme with the aim to increase the understanding of mobility interventions and related health impacts amongst sector actors and to develop tools and introduce an advocacy programme. On the basis of a web-based literature review and a substantial number of relevant case studies (20-30), the programme's outputs will be an international symposium to present the issues raised and a toolkit for transport professionals to include holistic health impact assessments in planning and implementation of interventions and an advocacy programme to sensitise the health sector to mobility issues. In addition a network of interested actors will continue the debate and exchange on mobility and health on a global level.

The programme is steered by a core group consisting of individuals of SDC, IFRTD (International Forum for Rural Transport Development), Skat (Swiss Resource Centre and Consultancies for Development) and SCIH (Swiss Centre for International Health) and implemented by a network of researchers and mobility and health sector specialists. The core group, which met for the first time on 16.09.05 in Bern, currently elaborates the overall activity planning and designs the analytical framework for the research programme. The networked research programme is expected to cost around USD 685,000 over a 2 years period. The SDC contribution towards this amounts to CHF 125'000 and is to be considered as seed and kick-off money for the start-up phase of the activities. It will also allow fundraising and leveraging of contributions from other donors.

For further information, see http://www.skat.ch/transweb/topics/mobility-health.htm or contact the core group mailto:transweb@skat.ch

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Transport Infrastructure for Poverty Reduction: DAC Povnet at work (R. Schmid, Skat)

After a period when infrastructure needs were given a low priority by many donors, infrastructure is today again high on the international development agenda. It is because more and better economic infrastructure is considered as badly needed to support higher and durable rates of growth, and to foster the involvement of the poor women and men in a growth process that benefits them. If such growth, central to the achievement of the MDGs, is to take place, investment of all sorts needs to rise, particularly those tackling the key bottlenecks to growth. Over the period 1999-2002 about 50 billion US$ have been invested in developing countries in transport infrastructure by bilateral donors (60%) and multilateral development banks (40%) - about 3.5 times more than in the water & sanitation sector. However, there are important issues around the volume, quality, and governance of infrastructure, as well as how those investments can deliver benefits to the poor, which need to be addressed in order to maximise the impact of infrastructure on pro-poor growth.

Transport is perhaps the most important infrastructure sector for poverty reduction and pro-poor growth. It is a key facilitator of development, providing services to other sectors (social, economic) and to other development priorities (regional integration, security, etc.). Recent studies estimate economic return on investment projects in average 80% for roads. To be effective, an interconnected - regional, national, local, community - and multimodal transport network is required. This is far from being the case in most low-income countries. While transport infrastructure - particularly rural roads - demonstrates public good characteristics, transport services are usually provided by the private sector. Services can be charged for (e.g. through fuel tax), but it is more difficult to directly charge beneficiaries for making use of the facility. Transport is costly, particularly in areas with low population density, and its infrastructure has high recurrent costs. Transport investment is politically-sensitive, thus subject to political interests and is often accompanied by negative environmental (e.g. pollution) and health (e.g. spread of HIV/AIDS) externalities which impose a disproportionate toll on the poor. Sector responsibilities usually belong to several ministries, making coordination difficult.

Since 2004, the DAC, through its Network on Poverty Reduction (Povnet), has engaged in an ambitious programme of work on pro-poor growth. Infrastructure, together with private sector development and agriculture, is a key strand of this work. Through a Povnet task team on infrastructure that has drawn on the expertise of donors, developing countries, the private sector and civil society, and through international meetings, DAC Members have analysed why investments in infrastructure fell significantly in the 1990s. They have drawn lessons from the limitations of their earlier approaches and, on that basis, developed a set of guiding principles to guide and promote the contribution of infrastructure to pro-poor growth. These concern (i) the importance of developing country-led frameworks as the basis for coordinated donor support, (ii) enhancing the impact on the poor through more attention to how infrastructure can really benefit them, (iii) enhanced management within the sectors where infrastructure investment takes place, in order to achieve sustainable outcomes, and (iv) ways of enhancing finance and making better use of all financial resources.

The "Guiding principles on infrastructure for poverty reduction", which also address how they apply to different infrastructure sectors, will be published soon as DAC guidelines. They represent a framework for building a broader consensus among donors on how best to support infrastructure's contribution to economic growth and poverty reduction. In the transport sector, the guidelines call the donors to:

• Support assessments of economic and social rates of return of various projects;
• Collectively and carefully establish their priorities in their sector assistance strategies;
• Support sector policy reforms to promote safe, regular and environmentally friendly transport networks;
• Make sure that their transport interventions include poverty reduction impact (e.g. employment, IMTs);
• Support long term administrative and financial institutional reforms (particularly in maintenance of roads);
• Focus on service rather than only infrastructure provision as well as on involvement of the private sector;
• Validate the high importance of the transport sector for pro-poor growth through adequate investments.

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (seco) contributes actively, and the SDC Mobility desk sporadically, to the work of the Povnet task team on infrastructure. For further information, see the Povnet website at http://webdomino1.oecd.org/COMNET/DCD/PovNet.nsf

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"Goy ga Zaada" (Infrastructures en HIMO dans la zone de Téra Nord, SDC Niger), by Urs Stüdeli

The rural infrastructure programme "Goy ga Zaada" (work and development) intervenes in the communities of Gorouol, Bankilaré and part of Téra in Téra Division in Niger. The most important income generating activities of the population are agriculture, livestock breeding and trade as well as general commerce. Since 1999, the "Programme de développement local de Tillabéri" (CADELT) has promoted local initiatives. Activities carried out included structuring of the society on the grass root level, investments in the rural infrastructure sector and enhancing food security. Goy ga Zaada takes over the activities of the former CADELT in the rural infrastructure sector by using a labour based approach and its actions are complementary to the ones of the new CADELT.

The objective of the first phase (2005-08) is formulated as follows: "The stakeholders in the area of intervention are enabled and empowered to set up rural infrastructure projects allowing them to improve their livelihood in a sustainable manner". 120 km of rural roads shall be passable during the whole year, 30 boreholes for drinking water supply, and 15 small dams for retaining water be completed. Main results to be achieved are as follows:

• Capacity building of the main actors
• Enhance interaction and communication among key players in the field of rural infrastructures in order to reduce conflicts
• Improvement of income of the poorest and most vulnerable groups of the population
• Working out phasing out strategies

Goy ga Zaada accompanies the stakeholders during construction and the subsequent period of maintenance of the projects. The Programme adjusts its interventions to the types of infrastructure concerned, and applies target group specific approaches taking into account social aspects as well as institutional set ups. It will mainly act through intermediate organizations. The recent decentralization process with council members election and the installation of elected council members at the beginning of this year has put the Mayors in the forefront of local development initiatives. The communities as contracting authority will have to mobilize the villages and their structures.

The association Intercooperation + Perreten & Milleret was commissioned by SDC, after a restricted tender procedure, to implement the programme. The contract sum is 3.6 million CHF. For further information, please contact Urs Stüdeli mailto:stuedeli@intnet.ne, or have a look at http://www.intercooperation.ch/projects/p113

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"Road development, economic growth, and poverty reduction in China" (Shenggen Fan and Connie Chan-Kang, 2005)

The report evaluates the contribution roads have made to poverty reduction and economic growth in China over the last two decades. It disaggregates road infrastructure into classes to account for differences in their quality, and then estimates the impact of road investments on overall economic growth, agricultural growth, urban growth, urban poverty reduction, and rural poverty reduction. The report makes the case for a greater focus on low-quality and rural roads in future investment strategies in China. It shows how investing in low-quality and rural roads will generate larger marginal returns, raise more people out of poverty per yuan invested, and reduce regional development disparity more sharply than investing in high-quality roads.

The report is available for download in PDF format at http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/abstract/abstr138.htm

"Output-based aid in Chad: Using performance-based contracts to improve roads" (T. Hartwig, Y. Mumssen, A. Schliessler, 2005)

Despite Chad's recent debut as an oil exporter, its people rank among the world's poorest. Large parts of the country are left in extreme isolation by the lack of a backbone road network that is passable year-round. To tackle the poor internal integration, the government formulated the National Transport Program in 1999. And to address the need for sustainable road maintenance, it started a pilot project that moves from traditional input-based planning and contracting of maintenance to the more output-based approach known as performance-based maintenance and management of roads (PMMR). A private operator has been contracted to provide road services. Results so far are encouraging, and the government plans to expand the share of the road network covered by PMMR contracts. The PMMR arrangement is being replicated elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Madagascar, and Tanzania.

The note is available for download at http://www.gpoba.org/documents/Chad_Roads_OBApproaches.pdf

"Regional Atlas of Transport and Telecommunications in the ECOWAS Zone" (ECOWAS/OECD, 2005)

For ECOWAS' 30th anniversary, its Executive Secretariat and the Sahel and West Africa Club / OECD are co-producing an Atlas with a view to taking stock of the evolution in field of telecommunications and transport in the ECOWAS zone. This analysis is done from a regional perspective, taking into account the inter-dependencies and interconnections of the various infrastructure networks. One of the objectives of West African integration policy is for the 15'000 km of ECOWAS countries' internal borders to represent areas that stimulate exchange in order for populations to move freely, trade and communicate within the area.

For further information and for downloading the Atlas in English and in French, see: http://www.oecd.org/document/4/0,2340,en_2649_33711_35184324_1_1_1_1,00.html

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PIARC INTERNATIONAL SEMINARS: http://www.piarc.org/en/events/piarc-seminars

"Sustainable Access and Local Resource Solutions" - Awareness raising and documentation of sustainable solutions for rural roads and accessibility. Siem Reap, Cambodia, 28-30 Nov. 2005.

"Monitoring and Managing Paved and Unpaved Roads" - Discussion and exchange on needs and requirements of surface roads characteristics for road networks. Bamako, Mali, 21-22 Feb. 2006.

"Maintenance of Rural Roads" - Stakes and Perspectives. Rabat, Morocco, 20-21 April 2006.

SAFETY 2006: 8th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion.

Durban, South Africa, 2-5 April 2006. http://www.safety2006.info/

For further events or event agendas you may visit www.skat.ch/transweb/links/events.htm

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Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) at the World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/psia

The website contains information on the PSIA approach, tools and methods, training events and materials, including the PSIA User's Guide and the PSIA E-learning Course, country experience, and sector specific notes on the distributional impacts of policy and institutional reforms.

Employment Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP/ILO): http://www.ilo.org/eiip

The EIIP promotes the orientation of infrastructure investments towards the creation of higher levels of productive employment and improved access to basic goods and services for the poor. It promotes local level planning and labour-based technologies in a large number of countries. Their website provides a wealth of thematic and country specific information and publications.

Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP): http://www.sutp.org/

SUTP-Asia is a partnership between the GTZ, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, CITYNET and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) which aims to help developing Asian cities achieve their sustainable transport goals, through the dissemination of information about international experience and targeted work with particular cities. The resources that the SUTP website offers are sourcebooks, training materials, a sustainable transport photo CD and further publications.

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-- DISCLAIMER --

The contents of "FOCUS ON MOBILITY" do not necessarily reflect the official policies of SDC. Information contained may be freely used for non-commercial purposes, as long as SDC is duly acknowledged. For further information, please visit www.skat.ch/transweb/news.htm

The "FOCUS ON MOBILITY" team are:
- Thomas Zeller (SDC), thomas.zeller@deza.admin.ch, ++41 31 322 34 42
- Roger Schmid and Juerg Christen (Skat), transweb@skat.ch, ++41 71 228 54 54

"FOCUS ON MOBILITY" is a service provided by Skat within the "SDC Support Mandate in Mobility"

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