[sustran] SUSTRAN News Flash #28

[SUSTRAN Secretariat]

Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia and the Pacific (SUSTRAN)
c/o Asia Pacific 2000, P.O. Box 12544, 50782 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: +603 2559122 ext 2240, Fax: +603 253 2361.
E-mail: <tkpb at barter.pc.my> or <umpap at po.jaring.my>.

SUSTRAN News Flash #28                       15 November, 1997

 CONTENTS
1.   New distribution method for flashes
2.   Please send details for contacts directory
3.   Creatively fighting forced evictions in Manila.
4.   Sustainable Penang initiative
5.   Bicycle advocacy news from Manila
6.   Melbourne tollway court battles continue.
7.   Toll road fight in Santiago, Chile
8.   FOE Bangladesh raises alarm over Dhaka air pollution
9.   USA transport sector and global warming
10. Caution over Asian dependence on Middle East oil
11. New resources
12. Events
13. Quick quote

1. NEW DISTRIBUTION METHOD FOR FLASHES
With the very kind assistance of JCA-NET in Japan, we are now using the
majordomo listserver
software to distribute these news flashes to the list of subscribers.  THIS
CHANGE MAKES NO DIFFERENCE TO SUSTRAN-DISCUSS SUBSCRIBERS.  However, if you
ever leave sustran-discuss you may still want to get SUSTRAN News Flashes
(the monthly electronic newsletter from the SUSTRAN Secretariat).
                        To subscribe directly to SUSTRAN News Flashes:
                        send a message to: <majordomo at jca.ax.apc.org>
                        with the BODY (not subject) of the message being:
                        subscribe sustran-flash

2. PLEASE SEND DETAILS FOR CONTACTS DIRECTORY
The SUSTRAN Secretariat is now preparing the first edition of our
long-promised Sustainable Transport Contacts Directory. We hope that this
will provide a big boost to the network. Our work would be greatly helped
if you could take a few minutes to tell us a little about yourself and your
interest in this issue. If you would like to be considered for inclusion in
the directory, then please send answers to the following questions to the
SUSTRAN Secretariat.

*  Your full contact details and organisation (if applicable). Please
include email and web pages if any.
*  If you are part of a relevant organisation, what kind of organisation is
it and what is its main purpose?
*  What main issues and activities are you or your organisation involved in?
*  What transport-related issues and activities have you or your
organisation been involved in?
*  What transport-related issues are of greatest concern to you?
*  Which geographical areas do your interests or activities relate to?
*  Please list any relevant publications or information sources that are
available from you or your organisation.

As always, any other comments and ideas on SUSTRAN and its mission and on
SUSTRAN News Flashes are very welcome.

3. CREATIVELY FIGHTING TRANSPORT-RELATED FORCED EVICTIONS IN MANILA.
When local government didn't respond to protests over large-scale forced
evictions in Manila an association of poor people's organisations, called
DAMPA, called on the Japanese Government to investigate the violations of
the rights of people displaced by Japanese-funded public projects. The
projects included a highway flyover, an aqueduct, a railway extension, and
an airport expansion. The Philippines and Japan are both signatories to
international treaties which prohibit funding of projects which violate the
rights of displaced residents.
        In March 1996, a Japanese fact-finding team, including church,
academic and NGO representatives, made a much-publicised visit to Manila.
They found that: people were evicted without prior consultation or notice;
in relocation sites, people were left without basic services, water,
electricity, schools and hospitals; people lost jobs in the relocation
process; people were taken to relocation sites without choice of where to
go, resulting in community disorganisation; implementing agencies reneged
on promises of compensation, support services.
        The mission's findings came out in all the local newspapers, along
with its recommendations to OECF: affected people, especially the poor,
must be included in planning relocation programmes, and some of the project
budgets should be allocated for relocation of displaced residents. The OECF
promised to cancel funding for projects involving involuntary resettlement,
and to investigate complaints of affected residents and rights violations.
        [Source: "Housing by People" No. 10, Oct. 1997, Newsletter of the
Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, 73 Soi Sonthiwattana 4, Ladprao 110,
Ladprao Rd, Bangkok 10310, Thailand. Tel: +66 2 538 0919  Fax: 662 539
9950, E-mail: <achrsec at email.ksc.net> or <maurice at ksc9.th.com>].

4. SUSTAINABLE PENANG INITIATIVE
The new Sustainable Penang Initiative is a long-term project conducted by
Socio-Economic & Environmental Research Institute (SERI), with the
objective of establishing a viable partnership for sustainable development
in this highly urbanised Malaysian state. Consultations are taking place
with citizen's groups, relevant government agencies and the business
community as well as individuals with long-standing involvement in the
issues concerned. Five roundtable discussions will be held to draw up a
status report on Penang's economic progress, ecological sustainability,
social justice, cultural vibrancy and popular participation.
        Transport became an important topic in the first roundtable, on
Ecological Sustainability, which was held last week. Great progress was
made toward developing a set of sustainability indicators for Penang.
        [Contact: Khoo Salma Nasution, Coordinator, The Sustainable Penang
Initiative, Socio-Economic & Environmental Research Institute (SERI), 10A
Persiaran Bukit Jambul (International College Grounds), 11900 Bayan Lepas,
Penang, Malaysia. Tel +604 645 1710, Fax: +604 645 2807, E-mail
seripg at tm.net.my].

5. BICYCLE ADVOCACY NEWS FROM MANILA
Cycling grabbed the audience's attention and imagination at the 6th monthly
Talakayang Kalikasan environmental media forum at the Hotel Rembrandt in
Quezon City. CYCAD members took center stage as they related the joys and
risks of cycling in the city.  They then read the petition for a
bike-friendly city that CYCAD has been circulating and asked the audience,
including the media, for their support and signatures. CYCAD's petition is
seeking government policies that promote bicycling as alternative
transportation and that recognises the social and environmental benefits of
designing streets that enable cyclists to ride safely and pedestrians to
walk without being impeded and forced on the roadway by parked cars. It
asks government "to declare as government policy the promotion of bicycling
and other forms of non-motorised transport."
        [Source: SIKAD Electronic Edition  Newsletter of Cycling Advocates
(CYCAD), November 1997 Vol. 1, No.2, Manila, Philippines (Sikad in Tagalog
means "to pedal"). Contact: Ramon Fernan III, Cycling Advocates (CYCAD),
1563 Pasaje Rosario, Paco 1007 Manila, Philippines. Tel: +63 2 523 0106,
E-mail: <cycad at epic.net>].

6. MELBOURNE TOLLWAY COURT BATTLES CONTINUE.
The court battles against Melbourne's giant City Link tollway are
continuing. Philip Morey, a member of the Public Transport Users
Association, won an appeal to the Full Bench of the Federal Court against a
trial judge's dismissal of his action for misleading and deceptive conduct
against the promoters of the tollway. Morey has been granted a retrial of
his allegations that the traffic and revenue estimates published by the
promoters are inflated. His claims have been given added force by the
recent announcement that the owners of the private Hills Motorway in Sydney
have suspended payments to investors due to lower than expected traffic
volumes. And a case by another PTUA member challenging the Federal tax
breaks awarded to City Link goes on appeal to the Full Bench of the Federal
Court on 31 October.
        [Contact: Paul Mees, mees at coombs.anu.edu.au]

7. TOLL ROAD FIGHT IN SANTIAGO, CHILE
Growing opposition from community organisations and experts threatens to
delay the Costanera Norte highway in Santiago, Chile. A legal writ filed by
several community organisations in April halted bidding on the project and
forced the ministry to submit an environmental impact study to the Santiago
environmental commission (Corema). In July, an unprecedented number of
community representatives used Corema's "citizen participation" sessions to
get more information from the project's proponents and to present their
criticisms.
        Grassroots opposition is based on four major concerns:  destruction
of green recreation space; massive air pollution that would emanate from
eight chimneys; destruction of communities by destroying commercial
activity in certain neighbourhoods; social inequality, as the project would
benefit drivers and development projects in prosperous areas, at the
expense of the vast majority of people who travel by bus. The project is
also inconsistent with official policy to decontaminate Santiago, since by
generating more traffic it would impact significantly on air pollution
levels.
        The Latin American Observatory of Environmental Conflicts has
recently sponsored the publication of a book on the debate, "Costanera
Norte, What City Do We Want?," which will be launched later this month.
        [Source: Excerpted from an article by Lake Sagaris, from Chip News
www.chip.cl,  forwarded by Christopher Zegras, Instituto Internacional para
la Conservacion de Energia, General Flores 150, Providencia, Santiago,
CHILE, Tel: (56 2) 236 9232 Fax: 236 9233, email: <chris at mailnet.rdc.cl>,
URL: http://www.iiec.org].

8. FOE BANGLADESH RAISES ALARM OVER DHAKA AIR POLLUTION
Although motor vehicle ownership in Dhaka remains low even by South Asian
standards, the rate of increase is very high. According to Friends of the
Earth Bangladesh, the city's vehicle population has increased by almost ten
times since 1992. Dhaka is a very dense city and cannot cope with the
influx of vehicles. Millions of people are directly exposed to alarming
levels of air pollution, 70% of which is attributed to the highly-polluting
poorly-maintained vehicle fleet running on low-quality fuel. A recent BBC
report labelled Dhaka as one of the most air polluted cities in the world.
Lead is still used in the petrol supply (0.84 grams per litre). The
two-stroke engines of auto-rickshaws and tempos (3-wheel micro-buses) which
burn a mixture of gasoline and lubricating oil, are particularly polluting.
Friends of the Earth is appealing for help in their campaign against
vehicular air pollution.
        [Contact: FOE Bangladesh (Institute for Environment and Development
Studies), 6/12-15 Eastern View (5th Floor) 50 D.I.T. Extension Road, Dhaka
1000, GPO Box No. 3691. Tel. +880 2 835394, Fax. +880 2 9566694, 9565506,
email: <gbs at dhaka.agni.com>].

9. USA TRANSPORT SECTOR AND GLOBAL WARMING
In the run up to the Kyoto conference on climate change, the international
spotlight has been on the failure of a number of rich countries, especially
the United States and Australia, to commit themselves to emissions
reductions.
        Transportation in the "automobile-addicted" United States is the
largest single carbon dioxide emitting "energy sector" in the world.  A
recent study by the National Research Council found that the US.
transportation sector accounts for about 4-5% of the CO2 emitted as a
result of human activities (including deforestation) annually. United
States CO2 emissions from transportation are twice those from Germany,
Japan, France and the UK combined (countries which together have a larger
population than the US). Since 1990, transportation has been responsible
for the largest share of US carbon emissions growth. The National Research
Council says US motor vehicle CO2 emissions could double over the next 50
years.
        The Surface Transportation Policy Project coalition is lobbying the
US administration to make the transportation policy connections to emission
reductions but most environmental organisations have neglected transport in
their greenhouse-related lobbying efforts. Meanwhile, a formidable
coalition of big businesses, including auto, oil, road and air transport
interests, have been lobbying hard against US action on climate change and
launched a media campaign. They oppose any plan that does not also require
emission reductions by developing countries.
        [Sources: Mobilizing the Region #142 and #148, Tri-State
Transportation Campaign, 281 Park Ave. South, 2nd Floor, New York, NY
10010, tel. (212) 777-8181, fax (212) 777-8157, email: tstc at tstc.org, URL:
http://www.tstc.org/]

10. CAUTION OVER ASIAN DEPENDENCE ON MIDDLE EAST OIL
According to a Star report, experts warn that Asia's dependence on oil
imports from the Middle East will rise to 90% from 75% by 2010. According
to Kazuya Fujime of Japan's Institute of Energy Economics, demand in East
Asia for oil will increase by 4.4% a year to reach 14.9 million barrels a
day by 2010; with local production only rising 0.6% a year to six million
barrels a day. Fujime concluded that Asian nations will need to increase
stockpiles to cope with any cut in Middle East supplies by finding other
supplies and developing other indigenous energy sources and improving
efficiencies.
        [Source: cited by APRENET's CONNECTIVITY, Asia-Pacific Trade,
Environment, and Development Monitor, VOL.1 NO.13, October 24, 1997. This
is a useful electronic newsletter. Contact: APRENet, email:
<aprenet at nautilus.org>, URL: http://www.nautilus.org/aprenet/].

11. NEW RESOURCES

a. "How Communities Organize Themselves - Stories from the Field -"
Compiled by Kenneth Fernandes. The stories in this book have been told by
activists and community workers from low and middle income settlements of
Karachi, at forums organised by the Urban Resource Centre. They provide
insights into the collective struggles of low income communities for
accessing basic amenities and highlight the process of change that has been
initiated at the grassroots level as a result.
        [Available from Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, 73 Soi
Sonthiwattana 4, Ladprao 110, Ladprao Rd, Bangkok 10310, Thailand. Tel: +66
2 538 0919  Fax: 662 539 9950, E-mail: <achrsec at email.ksc.net> or
<maurice at ksc9.th.com>].

b. "The Full Costs and Impacts of Transportation in Santiago de Chile"
by the International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC), 1997, 133
pp. + Appendices. US$25. Recent years have witnessed increasing emphasis on
the full costs of transportation. While a number of studies have examined a
range of transportation's full costs in OECD countries, little
comprehensive work in this field has been conducted in the developing
world. This report attempts to fill this gap. The study analyses personal
costs (transportation expenditures and travel time), social costs
(congestion and accidents), infrastructure costs (road, rail, parking, and
land), environmental costs (air and noise pollution, energy resources), as
well as issues such as urban outgrowth, water pollution, and equity. The
study's results should help to spur and guide similar initiatives in other
cities.
        [To order, contact: International Institute for Energy
Conservation, 750 First Street, NE, Suite 940, Washington, DC 20002 USA.
Tel: 202 842 3388  Fax: 202 842 1565, email: cmcginn at iiec.org, URL:
www.iiec.org].

12. EVENTS

a.  Meeting on Aviation, Environment and Development.
INZET, Association for North-South Campaigns, is organising a meeting for
experts on aviation, environment and development, at Amsterdam Airport
Schiphol, banquet rooms 'Amsterdam' and 'Brussels', Friday November 21st,
1300 - 1730. Two main questions will be discussed. Should we take the
special position of developing countries into account when introducing
economic measures for combating environmental pollution from international
aviation? And if so, how?  Emissions from aviation have a growing impact on
the environment. Ideas on how to combat these emissions include economic
instruments like excise duties on kerosene and environmental charges. What
would be the effect of these instruments on developing countries? The
meeting focuses on Africa South of the Sahara. [Contact: INZET, Association for
North-South Campaigns, Keizersgracht 132, 1015 CW Amsterdam
Netherlands. Tel: +31.20.6273339, Fax: +31.20.6273839, E-mail: admin at inzet.nl].

b.  RESCHEDULED: "Greening Urban Transport: A National Conference on
Improving Urban Transport Systems for Better Cities", 11-12 December 1997,
Manila.
Due to last minute problems this conference has been rescheduled to
mid-December. Venue: Institute for Social Order, Ateneo University Campus,
Loyola Heights, Quezon City. Organised by the Sustainable Transport Forum
[Contact:  Conference secretariat: Citizen's Alliance for Consumer
Protection (CACP), 3-E Scouter Ojeda St., Roxas District,  Quezon City Tel.
(63-2)411-5753; 927-3658; fax. 410-0998; e-mail: cacp at phil.gn.apc.org].

c. "International Short Course on Urban Mobility and Non-Motorised
Transport" at IHE Delft.
The course, to be held in Delft, The Netherlands, from 23-27 March 1998, is
meant for policy makers, urban managers/planners and traffic and road
engineers involved in transport planning and management. Starting from an
overview of the differences in, and similarities of urban transport issues
in developed and developing countries, the course deals with integrated
urban  transport planning and management, focussing on planning and
engineering for non-motorised transport. The organisers, the Department of
Transport and Road Engineering of IHE Delft, draw on both the extensive
Dutch expertise of the subject matter, and on their experience in East
Africa in the Non-Motorised Urban Transport Pilot projects in Kenya and
Tanzania in the framework of the World Bank/UNECA Sub_Sahara Africa
Transport Programme.
[Contact: J.H. Koster, Tel: +31.15.2151750, fax +31.15.2122921, email:
jhk at ihe.nl].

13. QUICK QUOTE
"A short walk trip is the highest achievement of urban transport planning.
Obviously it is not possible for all activities to lie within walking
distance, but it is possible by bad planning for the great majority to lie
beyond walking distance." (J.M. Thomson, 1977, in "Great Cities and Their
Traffic" - this book is a classic by the way.)


The Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific (SUSTRAN)
is dedicated to promoting transport policies and investments which foster
accessibility for all; social equity; ecological sustainability; health and
safety; public participation; and high quality of life.

We rely on you, the participants in the network, for our news. Thank you to
everyone who has sent material. Please keep it coming. We welcome brief
news and announcements from all over the world.