The Solution for Overcoming Barriers of Green Road Construction in Developing Countries - Essay Sample

Introduction

The developing countries are vulnerable to climate change. These countries also face severe economic, social, and ecological threats (Hynes and Wang 2012). According to Hynes and Wang (2012), these countries are at risk for premature deaths and diseases associated with environmental pollution. These factors undermine the development of developing countries. Addressing the aforementioned development challenges require the implementation of the green growth, particularly green road concept.

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The concept has emerged as one of the fundamental models of economic growth. However, designing a green road concept is marred with challenges, especially from developing countries. It is against this backdrop that the current paper embarks to offer a solution for overcoming barriers of green road construction in developing countries with particular attention to the Indonesian context.

Indonesian Transport Sector: Overview

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country globally, with a population of 261 million people (Timilsina and Shrestha 2009). The country has the largest economy in South Asia, with a nominal Gross Domestic Product of $933 billion. Central government spending on transport has increased over the years. For example, spending has increased by three folds between 2010 and 2017. The increased transport and infrastructure spending has given the government the capacity to improve accessibility in most of Indonesia's most remote areas across the archipelago.

The county has a road network that spans over 540,000 km (Soehodho, 2017). Out of these road networks, 47,000km are national roads and 1000km of express high ways. Low traffic speed, as well as heavy congestion, characterizes the nature of Indonesian roads. For instance, travelling for merely 100km can take about 4 hours. The country has over the last two decades experienced exponential growth in motorized transport. The cause of this development is due to subsidized fuel and steady income rise that has in turn motivated financial institutions to provide low-interest products for vehicle loans. With limited road infrastructure, the rapid growth of motorized growth has exacerbated the adverse impact on the environment. According to Soehodho (2017), the sector accounts for over 75% of outdoor air pollution in Indonesia. The industry is also responsible for 23 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

Experts observe that sound strategic transport policies present some of the critical ways of boosting Indonesia towards its Sustainable Development Goals (Bakker et al. 2017). This is true for goal 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals which stipulates building resilient infrastructures and goal 11 of the same call which advocates for inclusive safe, resilient and sustainable cities. It is in this context that the current paper is drawn in which the writer will explore a solution for Overcoming Barriers of Green Road Construction in Indonesia.

Green Road Concept

The green road is a concept that is planned and designed to integrate transport and ecological environment. According to Le Blanc (2015), the green road design considers the environment, ecosystem, urban growth, health, and community. Therefore, the green road is different from conventional highways in terms of its concept, characteristics, and technology (Turon et al. 2017). The green road concept is a sustainability initiative. The definition of sustainability is based on four objectives, for instance, system effectiveness, environmental integrity, conservation of economic resources, and more importantly, taking into account the aspect of social quality of life. The latter three components are referred to as tripled bottom line and are main aspects that form the basis of transport sustainability goals (Turon et al. 2017).

The concept of sustainability, which is synonymous to green design is present in building construction industry. The model is beginning to emerge in road construction, but mostly in developed countries. For instance, countries like the United States, Netherlands, and Italy are among the advanced economies adopting the green road initiatives that promote environmental stewardship. The initiative considers various initiatives of sustainability such as social equality, environmental stewardship, and the efficiency of transportation systems (Le Blanc 2015). The ambitions for green road also brings onboard economic concerns such as making the use of new methods, materials, and construction practices.

Transportation-Specific Sustainability Metrics

According to Turon et al. (2017), there are various specific sustainability metrics for the green road transportation industry. The investment towards green road infrastructure has long-lasting implication such as the transport systems itself, the environment, economic, and social systems. This is because the transport sector is responsible for 22 percent of global energy consumption. The transport sector is also responsible for 25 percent of the fossil fuel and 30 percent of the worldwide air pollution that is emitted along with greenhouse gases (Eisenman, 2012). To this end, therefore, the small adjustment to reduce these impacts from transportation industry will result in essential benefits which as aforementioned, include economic development, social quality of life, environmental integrity, and system effectiveness.

Figure 1: Transportation-Specific Sustainability Metrics

Sourced from (Eisenman, 2012)

Indonesian Sustainability Concerns: Challenges Preventing the Implementation of Green Road Concept in Indonesia

Indonesian has regional sustainability issues. The issues can only be considered under the framework of public policy. For example, the major cities are characterized by high automotive dependency paired with limited transport alternatives (Kim 2012). The congestion witnessed on the roads has been linked to the air quality, respiratory issues, and stress. Limited options for transport systems demonstrate the widespread challenges on social equity issues in Indonesia (Harimu and Tumanduk 2018). The sustainability concerns are due to some challenges that fall into some components such as legal and regulatory framework, technical and physical aspect, financial, and cultural barrier.

The legal framework is the major hindrance towards a sustainable transport system. For example, the policies directed towards road infrastructure are not clear such that no restrictive measures are in place to ensure that only required transport networks are constructed (Kirmanto et al. 2012). In addition, the Indonesian government does not have a long term structure to facilitate and maintain ownership. Therefore, the local regulatory framework is either lacking or not stringent enough to facilitate the green road concept.

The technical and physical challenge is another area that is hindering the implementation of a green road concept in Indonesia (Law et al. 2016). For example, the engineering approach towards a green road concept lacks the design to establish a sustainable green transport. This means that the Indonesian engineering industry does not have enough technical knowledge and experience in the development community. For example, Indonesia is majorly an archipelago of more than 17,500 islands (Law et al. 2016). The country has 5 major cities each with over one million inhabitants. Transport networks in these cities are not reliable, and less consideration is given to specialized motorized transport. Clearly, well-thought engineering experts need to enhance their technical expertise to plan, design, implement, and more fundamentally, run a sustainable public transport system. The approach can be realized by the government pumping more funds towards the transport sector and also strengthen other institutional capacities to integrate transport with urban and other local area planning.

The cultural aspect is also playing a role in hindering the effective implementation of green road concept in Indonesia. According to Sharma and Maskay (1999), there no adequate information on how to establish a green road concept. Worryingly, the experts do not know where to get critical information on green development. With this in mind, it means that the people are not sensitized and convinced about the significance and the effectiveness of the green concept. Aesthetically, the communities in Indonesia see the green road concept as less pleasing because they have not been informed about its importance. Therefore, the aspect of green road concept in Indonesia is undervalued and it is not common in the region. To this end, it is clear that the green road concept is generating a diverged political position. As such, this reflects a lack of clarity and experience towards implementing a green road concept. The green growth policies are not favoring the need to implement the green road concept.

As a barrier, Hynes and Wang (2012) question whether green road concept will address issues pertaining to poverty and other critical development priorities. The question is addressed by emphasizing that green movement policy should focus on low-carbon and related technology. As such, the move does not address equity problems issues at either Indonesian level of global level. However, the problem in the Indonesian context is the lack of inclusion framework of people within the informal economy during decision-making processes (Sharma and Maskay (1999). Less attention has been directed towards efficient use of resources such as green technology.

Another issue facing developing countries like Indonesia is high-cost barriers. The high cost of transitioning to green road concept is beyond the reach of many governments. The locally available technologies, as well as the indigenous approaches, are not enough to propel Indonesia to a self-sufficient green growth.

The solution for Overcoming Challenges to Green Road Construction in Indonesia

The concept of green road construction is about the movement found within the provision of green growth theory. The aspect of green growth is understood as mainstreaming economic development that is inclusive in nature (Zinkeviciute et al. 2013 and Demir et al. 2014). The inclusion encompasses creation, sustaining environmental integrity, and social values. The theory of green growth also means changing the way Indonesian central government works, for instance, changing and improving the performance in both formal and formal sectors, as well as the consumers (Gerbens-Leenes et al. 2012). The success of this approach demands a systematic adjustment to policy framework. This is illustrated in the figure below.

Figure 2: Policy Instruments to overcome barriers of constructing green road concept

Source: (Hynes and Wang, 2012)

A successful policy framework that a government should develop is noted in the works of Hynes and Wang (2012). Hynes and Wang (2012), for instance, notes that the policy has three dimensions and it contains the strategy needed to implement green road concept. First, the national government should create enabling conditions towards a green concept development. Secondly, the government should ensure that green growth concepts are spread and mainstreamed to ensure opportunities are explored within the existing economic conditions. Lastly, the policy framework should be flexible enough to tap into specific opportunities within spatial and resource systems.

The first dimension addresses various aspects of challenges such as finance and lack of technical know-how. For instance, according to Kim (2012) and Harnad (2007), the policy under this dimension will need to shift government expe...