[sustran] SUSTRAN News Flash #30

[Paul Barter]

Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia and the Pacific (SUSTRAN)
c/o SUSTRAN Resource Centre,
A0602 Palm Court, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Phone: +603 274 2590 (or fax on request)
E-mail: <sustran at po.jaring.my> or <tkpb at barter.pc.my>

(PLEASE NOTE: New mailing address and email address)

SUSTRAN News Flash #30                            17 June 1998

CONTENTS
1.      Editorial: Fuel Price Rises Bring Down Suharto?
2.      Sustran Meeting in Manila
3.      Greening Shell Oil Company?
4.      Indonesian Forest Fund Used on National Car
5.      Air Quality Inside Cars Worse than Background Levels
6.      Thai Recycled Bike Project
7.      Reminder: Please Send Details for Contacts Directory
8.      Penang Third Link Versus Ferry Services
9.      Philippine Forest Road Controversy
10.    Kuala Lumpur Roads Protests
11.    Resources
12.    Events

1.      EDITORIAL: FUEL PRICE RISES BRING DOWN SUHARTO?
As we all know, there have been tumultuous events in Indonesia since the
last SUSTRAN News Flash. Escalating demonstrations in April and May finally
led Suharto's key allies to desert him and he had little choice but to
resign. The IMF-instigated reductions in fuel subsidies were widely
reported as the catalyst for the rioting and demonstrations before the
downfall. Probably just as important, but less widely reported, were the
steep rises in public transport fares that occurred at the same time.
Although Suharto's regime was clearly deeply unpopular and tainted by
corruption, and many other goods had also seen price rises, leaders
elsewhere may be making a mental note to themselves, "Never raise fuel
pricesŠ never raise fuel pricesŠ"

That would be a shame. The sudden removal of fuel subsidies certainly can
hurt desperately poor people. But on the other hand, fuel subsidies,
especially on gasoline, always benefit the rich much more than the poor. A
sustainable and people-centred approach to this issue probably demands that
fuel subsidies be removed.  But this should be done as part of a package of
policies that directly benefits lower-income groups. Societies like Japan,
South Korea and most European countries have had rather high fuel prices
for most of the decades since World War Two. These high prices probably
benefited the poor by slowing down motorisation (even if only a little) and
by helping the alternatives to private vehicles to remain viable. There is
an urgent need for serious attention to fuel pricing policy by governments
and international bodies. This attention must go beyond the purely economic
and financial focus of the IMF and include a sharp focus on equity, on
ecological sustainability, and on what is politically possible in each
country.

2.      SUSTRAN MEETING IN MANILA
Recently a "General Assembly" of the Sustainable Transport Action Network
for Asia and Pacific (SUSTRAN) was held in Manila on 2 - 5 June at the
Environmental Education Center, Miriam College, Quezon City, Metro Manila.
It brought together 33 of the core participants in the SUSTRAN network so
far. There were participants from India, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand,
Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as representatives from SUSTRAN
partners based in the UK, Kenya and the USA. We hope the next time an even
larger group can be brought together.

The meeting saw a high level of enthusiasm for a vision of more
people-centred and ecologically sustainable transport and for more civil
society initiatives on transport issues. Opportunities for advocacy efforts
at the regional and international levels were discussed, such as campaigns
targeting the ADB, JICA, and the Asian lending of the World Bank. Even
greater interest was shown in how region-wide networking can best help
local groups with their own local advocacy work. Many new ideas for SUSTRAN
activities and priorities were generated. Details of these ideas, decisions
and events at the meeting will be shared more widely in the near future.

Thanks must go to the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
(ITDP) for their  organisational and funding support for the meeting.
Thanks also to Green Forum Philippines, the local coordinators of the
meeting, and to the UNDP's Asia Pacific 2000 programme, the United Nations
Centre for Human Settlements for their collaboration, and to everyone who
was involved. There will be more reports on the outcomes of the meeting in
the next SUSTRAN News flash.

3.      GREENING SHELL OIL COMPANY?
During the first half of this year, the Shell oil company has been holding
a series of Expert Dialogues on the proposed Shell Sustainable Energy
Initiative (SEI). Shell describes the purpose of SEI as to "advance the
development and implementation of practical measures that enable society to
achieve sustainable and ever more efficient production and consumption of
energy." A Southeast Asian dialogue was held on 10 March 1998 in Bangkok
and was organised with the assistance of the International Institute for
Energy Conservation (IIEC). About 15 experts and representatives of NGOs
attended, including the coordinator of the SUSTRAN network. An interesting
collection of people had been gathered but it quickly became apparent that
the proposed SEI itself was simply charitable in character. There was
little or no sign that the principles of sustainable development would be
applied in any deep way to the operations of the company itself in the near
future. However, one interesting insight was the diverse nature of the
Shell Group. For example, USA and European parts of Shell took different
lobbying positions on the Kyoto climate change negotiations. [For more
information on the Southeast Asian SEI Expert Dialogue, contact: Kristina
Egan or John Ernst, International Institute for Energy Conservation, Asia
Office, 8 Sukhumvit Soi 49/9, Bangkok, Thailand 10110, Tel: +66 2 381 0814
Fax : +66 2 381 0815, Email: <kegan at loxinfo.co.th> or
<jernst at loxinfo.co.th>, Web: http://www.iiec.org].

4.      INDONESIAN FOREST FUND USED ON NATIONAL CAR: IMF
It was reported that Indonesia was unable to use a special reforestation
fund to help cope with massive forest fires last year because the money had
been transferred to a project to develop a national car, IMF managing
director Michelle Comdessus said. The Timor Putra Company, responsible for
the national car project, is controlled by Indonesian ex-President
Suharto's youngest son. [Source the Sun newspaper (Malaysia), Friday Jan.
23, 1998, p. 22].

5.      AIR QUALITY INSIDE CARS WORSE THAN BACKGROUND LEVELS
The Environmental Transport Association Trust (ETA) of United Kingdom has
completed a study for the Department of Environment, Transport and the
Regions (DETR) which concludes that air pollution inside cars can be up to
five times greater than background concentrations. Pedestrians and cyclists
are usually exposed to lower concentrations of pollutants because they tend
to be at the side of the road rather than in the middle. Car users are, in
effect, travelling in a tunnel of pollutants. Factors that increase levels
of pollutants in cars include low wind speeds, slow moving traffic, vehicle
age and faulty exhaust systems. Rush hour conditions in urban areas were
revealed as contributing to the highest concentrations in vehicles,
particularly levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbon
monoxide. The amount of ventilation inside the car seems to have little
impact on air pollution level. A similar study in Australia found benzene
levels in cars up to 11 times greater than ambient levels. For older cars
without catalytic converters, exposure was up to 27 times greater during
urban commuting trips. This suggests that the pollution levels in cars
relate to a combination of emissions from the cars own exhaust emissions
and those from other vehicles on the road. [Source: Air Quality Issues,
Vol. 3, Issue 3, January 1998. Atmospheric Research and Information Center
(ARIC), c/o Dept. of Environmental & Geographical Sciences, Manchester
Metropolitan Uni., Chester St, Manchester, M1 5GD, UK. E-mail:
<aric at mmu.ac.uk>, Web: http://www.doc.mmu.ac.uk/aric/arichome.html].

6.      THAI RECYCLED BIKE PROJECT
The Thailand Cycling Club (TCC) is launching a "Recycled Bicycle Project"
to donate old bicycles to underprivileged children in rural areas in Si Sa
Ket, Buri Ram, Roi Et, Nong Khai, and Phitsanulok provinces. Professor Dr
Thongchai Panswad, chairman of the TCC said "Š for needy children, these
bikes, after repair, mean no more long, barefoot walks to schoolŠ.Some
small children quit school altogether for this reason and many skip classes
on rainy days. So we would like to help make their journey to school a bit
easier." In addition, mechanics from the TCC will train the children how to
carry out simple repairs. [Contact: Thailand Cycling Club, Dr. Thongchai
Panswad, c/o Environmental Engineering Department, Chulalongkorn
University, Phyathai Rd, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. Tel: 66 2-2186669, Fax:
66 2-252 7510, Email: tpanswad at anoxic.env.chula.edu ].

7.      REMINDER: PLEASE SEND DETAILS FOR CONTACTS DIRECTORY
A mentioned last year, the SUSTRAN Secretariat is preparing a Contacts
Directory. Yes it is still coming!! It will be included in a Sourcebook to
be published this year. A few of you have already sent in your details for
inclusion. This is another reminder to anyone who would like to be included
to send brief answers to the following questions to the SUSTRAN Resource
Centre <sustran at po.jaring.my>. Please also let us know if your contact
details have changed recently.
*  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.

8.      PENANG THIRD LINK VERSUS FERRY SERVICES
Several Penang-based organisations have questioned the proposed "third
link" bridge-cum-tunnel project between Penang Island and the Malaysian
mainland. The groups are Aliran, Legal Advisory Centre, Women's Crisis
Centre, Penang Port Commission (PPSB) Employees Union, and Penang branches
of the Democratic Action Party, Malaysian Trades Union Congress, Malaysian
Youth Council and Pesticide Action Network. The third link project is
expected to cost RM2 billion (about US$0.5 billion). The groups questioned
the proposal on a number of grounds, including:  that improving the ferry
services to their full potential could meet the need at much lower cost;
that the emphasis should be on improving public transport and not on making
it easier for people to drive into the island and choke its already
congested streets; another "mega project" is unwise at a time of great
economic uncertainty. [Contact: ALIRAN, PO Box 1049, 10830 Pulau Pinang,
Malaysia. Tel/Fax: +60 4 641 5785, Web: http://www.malaysia.net/aliran/].

9.      PHILIPPINE FOREST ROAD CONTROVERSY
Controversy has emerged over the proposed Ternate-Nasugbu national highway
south of Manila that will cut across two forest reserves namely: the
Calumpang Point Naval Forest reservation and the Mt. Palaypalay National
Park. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has
reportedly been trying to convince the Department of Public Works and
Highways (DPWH) to re-route the 43-kilometer proposed highway since the
highway would encourage encroachment into the forest. But DENR was willing
to allow the highway to enter the park provided it was fenced off. The
1,300-hectare Harbour Town project of Fil-Estate Properties, Inc. in
Nasugbu Batangas is seen as a direct beneficiary of the new highway. The
resort will include two marinas, four golf courses, resort hotel, beach
resort, and residential subdivisions. Michael Toledo of Fil-Estate denied
reports the firm has put up P 5 million for the environmental guarantee
fund required for the project. Mr. Toledo said Fil-Estate was not exerting
pressure on DPWH to hasten the road project. Environmental group Haribon
Foundation has threatened legal action against the DPWH if it is proven
that they were building the new road to benefit the real estate developers
in the Cavite - Laguna - Batangas - Rizal - Quezon (Calabarzon) growth
area. [Source: Business World, Thursday, March 12, 1998; Contact: Green
Forum, 14 Mabait St, Teachers Village, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.
Fax: 632-925-3739, Email: greenfm at phil.gn.apc.org ].

10.     KUALA LUMPUR ROADS PROTESTS
In Kuala Lumpur in February, about 2000 university students and members of
the public protested near the entrance to the University of Malaya against
the construction of the Kerinci Link Expressway. They were upset at the
impact of the proposed road on the campus. Nearby residents have also taken
their concerns to the press. Similar sentiments have emerged from residents
of Kampung Sungai Pencala, a gazetted Malay village on the outskirts of
Kuala Lumpur, who are also faced with the prospect of a link road, the
Pencala Link, encroaching into 38 hectares of their reserve land. The
Kerinci Link Expressway and the Pencala Link are part of the RM1.3 billion
Sprint Expressway network which is to be ready by the year 2000. [Source:
The Sun, Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia  (Malaysian Newspapers)].

11.     RESOURCES
a. "The Bicycle In Africa: Luxury Or Necessity?" by John Howe and Ron
Dennis. IHE Working Paper IP-3 (first presented at the VELOCITY conference
"The Civilized City: Responses To New Transport Priorities" 6-10 September
1993, Nottingham, U.K.). [IHE Delft, Westvest 7, PO Box 3015, 2601 DA
Delft, The Netherlands. Tel. +31 15 215 1715, Fax. +31 15 212 2921, Email:
<ihe at ihe.nl>].

b. The Hindu "Survey of the Environment 98." This survey is published
annually by the Hindu newspaper of India. This year it has four articles on
transport. The articles are: "Heterogenous Cities: Limits Of Paradigms"  -
by Geetam Tiwari; "Smokeless Vehicles : For A Cleaner Future" - by Prof.
Dinesh Mohan; "Third World Traffic: Alternative Approaches" - by Rajeev
Saraf; and "Curitiba: Where buses hold sway" - by Jonas Rabinovitch.

c. "Forced Evictions And Housing Rights In Asia (A  Second Report)", edited
by Kenneth Fernandes.  Documents  the process of forced evictions that
occurred during 1996 and 1997 in 13 Asian cities. [Available from the Asian
Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR) Secretariat, 73 Soi Sonthiwattana 4,
Ladprao 110, Ladprao Rd, Bangkok 1030, Thailand. Tel [662] 538 0919, Fax:
[662] 539 9950, <achrsec at email.ksc.net>].

d. "Car Busters" magazine. A new magazine attacking "car culture" and
exploring positive alternatives. Small donation appreciated for a 'free'
sample copy. [Contact : Car Busters Magazine & Resource Centre, 44 rue
Burdeau, 69001 Lyon, France. Tel.: +(33) 4 72 00 23 57; fax: +(33) 4 78 28
57 78, E-mail: <carbusters at wanadoo.fr>]

e. "Transport and Communications for Urban Development: Report of The
Habitat II Global Workshop", 3-5 July 1995, Singapore. [Contact: Brian
Williams, Human Settlements Officer, United Nations Centre for Human
Settlements, PO Box 30030, Nairobi, Kenya. Tel: 254-2-623916, Fax:
254-2-624265, Email: brian.williams at unchs.org].

f. A FEW WEB SITES
Here are a few sites that would be a good start to a sustainable transport
"web surf". Most of these sites provide links to other transport-related
sites.
* The Surface Transportation Policy Project (http://www.transact.org/)
* Cyber Cyclery (http://cycling.org/)
* David Engwicht communications (http://www.slonet.org/~canderso/dec.html)
* Access Sustainable Transport Forum
(http://www.the-commons.org/access/eehome.htm)
* International Union (Association)of Public Transport (http://www.uitp.com/)
* Many links to transport-related sites
(http://www.its.leeds.ac.uk:8000/interesting-transport.html)
* The Transport Research Laboratory (http://www.trl.co.uk/)
* International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD)
(http://www.gn.apc.org/ifrtd/)
* World Bank projects that have been approved by the Bank's Board.
(http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/loanapp.html)
* Transportation Research Board (http://www.nas.edu/trb/index.html)
* International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC) (http://www.iiec.org)
* APEC Clean Cities Web Site (http://www.cleancities.com)
* International Roads Federation (IRF) - Meet some opponents of the
sustainable transport  movement (http://web.eunet.ch/irf )

12.     EVENTS
"The International Conference on Transport and Regional Development
(CONTRA-98)", which was to have been held in Yogyakarta in June 1998, has
been postponed due to the recent upheavals in Indonesia. The Organising
Committee will announce the new date of the conference later. [Contact:
Organising Committee CONTRA-98 Yogyakarta, Dr. Danang Parikesit, Civil
Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Gadjah Mada University,
Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia. Tel.  +62 274 902246, 512796, Fax. +62 274
512796, Email:  mstt_ugm at yogya.wasantara.net.id,  dan-dan at indo.net.id].

"International Symposium On Travel Demand Management", 8-10 July, Newcastle
University. [Contact: Mrs Lynda Morgan, Symposium Secretary, Transport
Operations Research Group, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne,  Newcastle
Upon Tyne, NE1 7RU,  UK , Tel:  +44 191 222  7683, Fax: +44 191 222 8352,
E-mail: Lynda.Morgan at ncl.ac.uk, Web: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/~nws1/ ]

"Moving the Economy: Economic Opportunities in Sustainable Transportation -
An International Conference", July 9 - 12, 1998, Toronto, Canada. [Contact:
Moving the Economy, c/o, Toronto City Hall, 12th Floor, East Tower,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada   M5H 2N2. Tel. +1 416 392-1560 x 85854, Fax: +1
416-392-0071, Email: <mte at city.toronto.on.ca>, Web:
www.city.toronto.on.ca].

"Workshop on Managing Information in Resource Centres - Experiences And
Challenges", 28-30 July 1998, Mumbai, India.  For sharing experiences of
managing information related to Habitat and Urbanisation issues. [Contact:
YUVA, 8 Gr. Fl.33/L Mhatre Bldg., Mugbhat Cross Lane, Mumbai 400 004,
India. Tel: +91 3889811/ 91 4143498/ 91 4070623, Fax: +91 2044223/ 91
2088348, Email: <yuva at giasbm01.vsnl.net.in>].

"Conference on Sustainable Transport", 31 July - 1 August 1998, Stamford
Hall, Leicester University, Leicester, LE2, UK. Theme: Sustainable
Transport: What are the barriers and how can we overcome them? [Contact:
Sarah Lane, Chartered Institute of Transport (CIT), Tel: +44 171 467 9418
Fax: +44 171 467 9440, Email: gen at citrans.org.uk]

"INTERTRAFFIC '98", Sao Paolo, Brazil, 8-12 September 1998. [Contact:
Organization Intertraffic '98 South America, RAI Group , PO Box 77777, 1070
MS Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tel: +31 20 549 1212, Fax: +31 20 646 4469,
Email: <intertraffic at rdc.nl>].

"CODATU VIII (8th World Conference on the Development and Planning of Urban
and Peri-urban Transport)", Cape Town, South Africa, 21 - 25 September
1998. [Contact: Claude Berenguier, Exec. Manager, CODATU Association,
Espace Ville, Rue Maurice Audin, 69518 Vaulx en Velin,, France. Tel. +33 47
204 7701, Fax: +33 47 204 7702, Email: <codatu at entpe.fr>].

"Training Course on Managing and Financing of Rural Transport" organised by
the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) and promoted by the World Bank,
will be held at TRL near London, October 12 - 23, 1998. Topics include:
Rural Transport Infrastructure , Rural Transport Services, Rural Transport
Planning. [Contact person at TRL: Linda Parsley; Fax: +44-1344 770 719,
Email:  <lindap at o.trl.co.uk>].

"UITP Asia/Pacific Congress and Exhibition", Hong Kong  Oct 20 - 23, 1998.
[Contact: Mrs Phoebe Lau, Asia/Pacific Liaison Officer for the
International Union of Public Transport (UITP), Tel: +852 2993 8721; Fax:
+852 2993 7782; Email: phoebel at mtrcorp.com).]

"VELO HAVANA´98, International  Bicycle Conference and Exhibition", 8-11
Dec. 1998, Havana, Cuba. [Contact: Organising Committee, International
Conference and Exhibition "Velo Havana ´98", Apartado Postal 17029, Habana
17, C.P. 11700, Cuba. Fax:+(53-7) 33-8250, E-mail: iitransp at transnet.cu]

"Third International Workshop on Transportation  Planning & Implementation
Methodologies for Developing Countries: Emerging Trends (TPMDC - 98)",
Bombay, 15-17 Dec., 1998  [Contact: Dr S. L Dhingra  / Prof. P.K. Sikdar,
Co-ordinators, TPMDC - 98 Civil Engineering Department , Indian Institute
of Technology PowaI, Bombay-400 076, India. Fax :091-022-5767302/5783480,
Email: dhingra at gemini.civil.iitb.ernet.in].

"VELOZITY: Australasian Cycling Conference", Feb. 17-19, 1999, Adelaide,
Australia. [Contact: Peter Solly and Lindsay Holmes, Conference 99, PO Box
2617, Kent Town, South Australia 5071, Australia. Tel: +61 8 8362 5959,
Fax: +61 8 8362 1776, Web: www.velozity.adelaide.net.au].

---------------------------------------------
Written and compiled by A.R. Paul Barter and Sreela Kolandai.

The Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific (SUSTRAN)
is dedicated to promoting transport policies and investments that 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.