Transport for Sustainable Development – The case of Inland Transport
A number of countries in the region are experiencing high unemployment rates, with Guyana having the highest levels during the past decade, surpassing 20 per cent. Six other South American and Caribbean countries have maintained unemployment levels higher than 10 per cent over the same period. Argentina has bounced back from an unemployment rate high of 18.3 per cent in 2001 to 7.2 per cent in 2012. Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of ) and Belize have significantly reduced unemployment levels when compared to 2002, while eight regional countries currently have unemployment rates lower than 5 per cent of the total labour force.15 Intraregional trade statistics indicate that in 2010, 34.6 per cent of volume (metric tons) was moved by road transport, 1.3 per cent by rail, while river and lake transport accounted for 1 per cent of the total annual trade volume. In terms of value, road transport accounted for 41.8 per cent, rail 0.7 per cent, and river and lake transport for 0.42 per cent of the total value of traded goods. Maritime transport is by far the most dominant mode, representing more than 60 per cent of the volume and almost 50 per cent of the value of traded goods. Available data indicates that in most countries the volumes of rail and road freight transport have been increasing in the past decade. Since 2002 levels, Brazil, Chile and Mexico have increased rail freight volumes by 43 per cent, 22 per cent and 21 per cent respectively, while Argentina has experienced a slight decline of 4 per cent in 2009 compared to 2008 levels, but has since been increasing rail freight transport volumes. In Colombia, freight transport volumes were increasing until 2009 but have since dropped. UNESCAP region (excluding UNECE member States)
Countries in the Asia and the Pacific region face a challenging task of sustaining growth and productive and decent employment in a complex and uncertain global economic situation. Prolonged recession in the developed world and slowdown in major emerging market economies further hampered export prospects (UNESCAP, 2014a). The economic crisis induced a slowdown in growth in most countries in the UNESCAP region including China and India, where growth rates in 2008 dropped by 5 per cent compared to the precious year, while Iran (Islamic Republic of ), Japan, Thailand and a number of pacific island states experienced recession in 2008–2009. The average growth rate of the developing economies of Asia and the Pacific is forecasted to rise moderately in 2014 to 5.8 per cent from 5.6 per cent in 2013. In line with the diversity of the region, economic growth momentum in 2014 will likely be varied across subregions. In South and South-West Asia, the forecast is for a significant increase in growth, to 4.7 from 3.9 per cent in 2013. Pacific island developing economies are also forecast to record a notable increase in growth, to 4.9 from 4 per cent in 2013, while East and North-East Asia is forecast to post stable growth in 2014 and growth in South-East Asia is projected to record 4.6 per cent (UNESCAP, 2014b). The average regional unemployment rate between 2002 and 2012 was 5 per cent. Much like in the UNECA region, according to ILO estimates16 unemployment has been stable in the past decade in UNESCAP member States, with 18 States recording average annual unemployment below 5 per cent between 2002 and 2012. On the other hand, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Maldives have consistently been exposed to unemployment rates greater than 10 per cent during the same period. Indonesia and the Philippines had, by
15
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS
16
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS
16