Managing the Environmental and Social Impacts of Major Road Investments in Frontier Regions: Lessons from the Inter-American Development Bank's Experience

The Environment and Safeguards Group (ESG) of the IDB has examined how potential environmental and social risks of major road improvement investments in natural resource rich and socio-culturally diverse "frontier" regions have been identified and addressed in various parts of South and Central America. This was done through a set of specific case studies for completed and ongoing Bank-supported projects in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Panama and Peru. In doing so, experience and lessons learned with respect to various parts of the project cycle -- design/preparation, up-front environmental assessment, implementation/supervision, and monitoring and evaluation -- are considered, as are the analysis and management of direct, indirect and cumulative environmental and social impacts. The present paper summarizes the main findings and recommendations from this series of county case studies.