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Figure 11:
Major road projects in the Mekong region.
The boundaries are not necessarily authoritative
In general, poor or central governance and trans-
boundary projects seem to reduce probability of proper
environmental assessments. Common to all projects is
that while some sectors, such as trade, transport and en-
ergy, it happens at the expense of biodiversity, wildlife
and quality of and access to water sources.
The positive effects of development typically affect
traders, merchants, and transport operators that may
benefit from the greater access and reduced transpor-
tation costs provided by improved road systems They
also include market access for farmers as the road
opens a wider vent for surplus, but only if such surplus
is available. Employment alternatives to subsistence
agriculture may expand by virtue of the opportunities
supported by a new road. Representatives of official and
NGOs may be better able to serve client populations,
and easily preventable communicable diseases may