Transport regulation and the environment in low income countries

Abstract

Much has recently been published on various topics concerning the environment and the policies necessary to contain continued and accelerating levels of environmental degradation. Within this literature have been many contributions examining the role of transport policy in the overall shape of environmental policies. Relatively little of this material, however, has been explicitly on the difficulties of formulating appropriate environmentally sound transport policies in less developed countries. This paper offers an examination of the nature of the specific transport related environmental problems found in low income countries (and under this umbrella we must include many European former communist states) and also considers the policy options open to both the authorities in these countries and also to other national and international bodies with an interest in these issues. The examples used and empirical material offered is drawn from a wide range of low income nations.