[sustran] FW: Comparative Assessment of the operational characteristics of Rural Water Transport

[Paul Barter]

Dear Colleagues 

Below, please find a short synopsis of a project and a call for
collaboration. Please share this call as widely as you can with colleagues. 

Best wishes 

Priyanthi Fernando 
Executive Secretary, 
IFRTD 

_________________________________ 
Project synopsis and call for collaboration 
Comparative Assessment of the operational characteristics of Rural Water
Transport 

The Problem 

The IFRTD Secretariat, supported by a grant from DFID's Knowledge and
Research Programme has initiated a two year research programme to assess the
operational characteristics and affordability of rural water transport under
different physical and social conditions. 

For poor people in rural areas in many parts of the developing world, the
non motor-vehicle transport services provided by the informal, mechanised
and non-mechanised, inland water transport sector ('rural water transport')
can be a principal means of affordable mobility and access. This mode is
particularly important in the wet season, the very part of the year when
other transport options are at their least reliable. There are locations
where rural water transport is effective (notably Bangladesh and Vietnam)
and others where, though the operating environment appears to offer similar
opportunities, RWT is little used or is very costly. The reasons for these
differences are unclear. There is no comparative data, so investigating the
potential for improvement or demonstrating the comparative economic
advantages of efficient systems is almost impossible. The existing knowledge
is highly uneven with much less known about the use of RWT in Africa and
South America. 

In addition to the lack of information, a hostile policy and institutional
environment limits the potential of RWT even where it is effective at the
local level. ESCAP figures suggest that even though almost 50% of the
freight in Vietnam is moved on water, the sector only receives 1% of the
national budget devoted to transport infrastructure. This neglect has a
significant impact, particularly on isolated communities with fewer assets
and limited access to goods, services and opportunities. 

This project will undertake to compare the different operational conditions
and identify the critical success factors associated with low cost rural
water transport. The outputs will provide information for integrating rural
water transport into rural access planning and generating information that
can be used to improve the viability of RWT operations and reduce the
isolation of poor rural communities in Asia, Africa and Latin America. It is
hoped that the activities of the project will raise the profile of these
issues among those working on improving access and mobility for the poor. 

The approach 

The research will be coordinated by the IFRTD Secretariat and implemented by
a core team comprising Colin Palmer, Farhad Ahmed andPriyanthi Fernando who
will work with collaborators in 10 countries to develop the framework for
the research and to collect the information. It is envisaged that the
project will comprise 4 phases: In the first inception phase, the core team
will identify collaborators and together agree a research framework. Phase 2
will involve the collaborators conducting the field research , and working
with the core team to carry out the comparative analysis. This will be
shared with key stakeholders and partners. In Phase 3 the programme will
identify key audiences, 'messages' and appropriate information products and
develop a strategy for dissemination that will be implemented as the final
phase of the project. 

Collaboration 

The work of the collaborators will be critical in achieving the project's
objectives and outputs. 

The IFRTD Secretariat is pleased to invite expressions of interest for
collaboration from organisations in developing countries with an interest in
the subject and the capacity to carry out a short piece of research. As
noted above, rural water transport is a neglected subject so direct
experience of the sector is limited. We recognise that it will not always be
possible to identify organisations with prior experience of the subject.
This will therefore not be a requirement for participation in the project.
Remuneration will be in the range of 3500 pounds. 

Collaborators will be required to: 

participate in an initial workshop currently scheduled for February 2002
(this could change)

contribute to the development of the research framework 

spend six months carrying out the research and writing the report

participate in the final workshop (planned for February 2003) that will
present the analysis and identify key audiences for the information.


If you are interested, please respond by October 5, 2001 to the address
below, providing a short capability statement of your organisation, a very
brief overview of the operational environment of rural water transport in
your country and why you are interested in researching this subject. 

We have already identified potential collaborators in Cambodia, Bangladesh,
Madagascar, Uganda and Peru. Selection of collaborators will depend on the
capacity of the collaborators to carry out the research and the operational
environment of rural water transport in the country. 

Rural Water Transport Project 
IFRTD Secretariat 
2 Spitfire Studios 
63-71 Collier Street 
London N1 9BE 
UK Tel: +44 20 7713 6699 
Fax: +44 20 7713 8290 
Email: ifrtd at gn.apc.org OR priyanthi.fernando at cwcom.net 


________________________________________________________________________ 
Priyanthi Fernando Executive Secretary International Forum for Rural
Transport and Development 2 Spitfire Studios 63-71 Collier Street London N1
9BE UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7713 6699 Fax: +44 (0)20 7713 8290 email:
ifrtd at gn.apc.org OR priyanthi.fernando at mcmail.com Web page:
http://www.gn.apc.org/ifrtd