Asian transportation systems and services, as well as their usage, are fraught with challenges. This handbook therefore seeks to examine the possible solutions to the problems faced by the region. It illustrates the history of transportation development in Asia and provides a comprehensive overview of research on urban and intercity transport. Presenting an extensive literature review and detailed summaries of the major findings and methodologies, this book also offers suggestions for future research activities from top-level international researchers. Written from an interdisciplinary perspective, the topics covered include: Transportation systems across Asia; Traffic accidents; Air pollution; Land use and logistics; Transport governance. Considering the population and economic development scale, as well as the diverse cultures of Asia, the Routledge Handbook of Transport in Asia will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of transportation, Asian development and Asian Studies in general.
This review is biennially produced by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). It describes the environment within which the transport sector is developing and the principal challenges that this environment poses to governments, the transport industry and society at large. The publication also focuses on tracing the significant development of roads, railways, shipping, ports, inland waterways and air transport industries and infrastructure in the region. In addition, it considers the changing delivery mechanisms across all transport sectors and discusses urban transport issues. Finally, the review examines the process of globalization, trade agreements related to transport, regionalism, collocation of production transport facilities, as well as intermodal transport systems.
International trade and investment have enabled many countries in the Asia-Pacific region to boost economic growth and have lifted millions out of poverty. As the Asia-Pacific region continues to thrive economically, trade and investment barriers are being dissolved and eliminated. As countries begin to depend on each other more, trade policy is gradually becoming a useful measure to achieve inclusive and sustainable development. Trade and investment are linked to the environment and social issues; hence, their impacts are also multi-dimensional. It has now been recognized that sustainable production and consumption are essential for sustainable development. Countries realize that they are not able to approach global and regional problems on their own and require cooperation, both at the level of government and business. As a result, the region has been active in concluding regional cooperation frameworks which routinely are centered on trade and investment. In the meantime, business has forged regional integration through the formation of regional value chains and production networks while governments have paved the way for the expansion of such production networks through the formation of regional trade agreements and economic partnerships. Thus, the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), which is the oldest preferential trade agreement in the region with a large consumer base, can play an important role in filling this gap. Given a slow progress in the multilateral negotiations in the WTO, especially when the members have started questioning the utility of the negotiations after 15 years, and a lack of consensus on how to move forward, the regional trade agreements can play a vital role. Even if they pose a challenge to the multilateralism, selected liberalisation of trade and economy in present time can become a building block for future multilateral negotiations. One of the reasons for the surge in these preferential trade agreements is to make binding commitments on WTO-plus and WTO-beyond issues. While there are many agreements that exist in Asia and the Pacific, there is no such attempt to consolidate them in one umbrella framework. Understanding the benefits of the consolidation, one such initiative was started by ESCAP a few years back. The RECI initiate for market integration could well be facilitated by APTA; however, it cannot deliver unless it transforms itself in a new generation agreement. Regional integration and cooperation are also important to meet the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Instead of wasting resources in discussing a new institutional framework, it would be more effective to use the existing framework and for the Asia-Pacific economies, the APTA provides an existing institutional platform. The cases discussed in this book prepare a ground for the future, and it is expected that all the stakeholders, member States of ESCAP, private sector as well as researchers would benefit from this publication on APTA: South-South Regional Integration and Sustainable Development.
The Survey 2014 examines the region's challenges to support its economic growth and to promote inclusive and sustainable development. Part I of the report focuses on the region's outlook as it contends with the ongoing global economic uncertainty and assesses the region's policy response to remaining and emerging vulnerabilities. It also examines the role of sustainable agriculture in closing the development gaps in least developed countries. A special theme is domestic resource mobilisation in the region, which explores the challenges on strengthening tax revenues. Part II of the report discusses strategic approaches to strengthen regional connectivity to achieve shared prosperity, particularly the ways in which various networks facilitate trade, production networks and investment flows within the region.
Within the transport sector in Asia and the Pacific freight and logistics account for a significant portion of total energy use - in many countries upward of 40% - and a correspondingly large share of CO2 emissions. Furthermore, on account of economic development and population growth, the region is expected to face substantial increases in trade shares and, thus, freight volumes. Accordingly, some estimates suggest that in Asia, ton-kilometres from surface freight will increase by 261% from 2015 to 2050 accounting for over two-thirds of all surface freight globally. Against this background, the Review provides a data-supported overview and insight for policy makers towards accomplishing seamless intermodal freight transport connectivity across key economic, social and environmental dimensions.
Policy-making for urban transport and planning of economies in the developing world present major challenges for countries facing rapid urbanisation and rampant motorisation, alongside growing commitments to sustainability. These challenges include: coping with financial deficits, providing for the poor, dealing meaningfully with global warming and energy shortages, addressing traffic congestion and related land use issues, adopting green technologies and adjusting equitably to the impacts of globalisation. This book presents a contemporary analysis of these challenges and new workable responses to the urban transport problems they spawn.
