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ASIST Bulletin no. 10, January 2000 New publications EIP environmental guidelines series
Per Mogstad; Terje Tessem, et al. The main objective of these guidelines is to enhance the optimal use of local resources in sustainable and environmentally sound infrastructure development strategies and community-based access programmes. They promote a project cycle integrating environmental concerns into the identification, design, planning, execution, operation and maintenance of infrastructure development projects. Guide I provides a general introduction to the subject, discussing the relationship between environment, poverty, employment and development. Guide II focuses on the project cycle in relation to environmental assessment. Guide III concentrates on the environmental aspects of rural access and transport programmes and Guide IV gives practical environmental guidelines for rural road construction and maintenance. In addition there are two case studies from Kenya and Nepal. These guidelines may be applied at all levels, from project identification, design and planning to execution, and should be integrated into the training of policy makers, planners, technicians and people at local level. An opportunity for employment creation, labour-based technology in roadworks: The macro-economic dimension. Socio-Economic Technical Papers series (SETP) No. 5 Gary Taylor and Moses Bekabye This report is based on a study carried out in Uganda to evaluate the potential of using employment-intensive technology in the rehabilitation of feeder roads as a means of building infrastructure while at the same time generating employment and combating poverty. The study concentrates on economic aspects rather than technical ones. The study confirms the hypothesis that labour-based approaches are viable and offer high employment potential, as well as greater indirect benefits to the national economy than conventional equipment-based technology. The main conclusions indicate that a switch towards more labour-based methods could generate very significant benefits for the poor in the form of employment opportunities, and for the country in terms of GDP and foreign exchange savings. This comparative study between labour-based and equipment-based methods for rural feeder road improvement would be useful to those involved in the policy formulation process regarding employment generation through infrastructure development. Rapid assessment of poverty impacts (RAPI): Elaboration of a rapid survey method of assessing the poverty reduction impacts of pilot employment projects. SETP No. 2 Laura Murphy This document describes a cost-effective method for assessing the impacts of small-scale employment-intensive projects on poverty. The method is referred to as ‘rapid assessment of poverty impacts' (RAPI) as it draws on ‘rapid' survey-based approaches to poverty monitoring. The paper discusses issues that arise in using the method for assessing rural roads projects, how it would be adapted to these and other types of projects. This paper is not a manual but rather a description of a general method which will have to be adapted in accordance with the type of project and local circumstances. Of nets and assets: Effects and impacts of employment-intensive programmes – A review of ILO experience. SETP No. 1 Willem Keddeman Since the mid 1970s, the ILO has been promoting employment-intensive public and community works programmes as a major means of job creation and poverty alleviation in developing countries. Various studies have been conducted to investigate the socio-economic impact of different types of interventions. This paper presents the findings of a systematic review to appraise the impact assessment methodologies applied in conducting these socio-economic impact studies and to draw some general conclusion about immediate, long-term and durable effects of project activities. The review concludes recommendations with respect to the methodology for impact assessments, and that assets and benefits produced with labour-based methods may be more easily sustainable than those produced with more traditional methods, but the long-term impact on poverty alleviation needs to be more fully documented. Storm Drainage. An engineering guide to the low-cost evaluation of system performance
Reviewed by David Mason, ASIST, Nairobi ‘This book is mainly concerned with surface water drainage in low-income urban areas in developing countries. It deals with both open and closed drains. The purpose of this practical guide is to help engineers (in particular municipal engineers) and development workers understand surface water drainage problems so that they can work on more realistic solutions. It starts from the recognition that millions of slum residents across the world suffer the hazards and misery of frequent flooding, and draws upon the results of two and a half years of fieldwork in the city of Indore in India. The book focuses on three questions:
It includes a comprehensive checklist for drainage evaluation, tables and graphs of data, and hydrological equations with worked examples. It is now one of the recommended textbooks for ASIST's new international course on community-managed upgrading of urban low-income settlements. |
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Guide
I: Environment, poverty and the use of local resources for sustainable
development
Peter
Kolsky