Transport and Environment in Sub-Saharan Africa

The document examines the environmental and social challenges of transport in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the rise in urban air pollution, high road fatality rates, and increasing traffic congestion. It argues that current policies favor automobiles over vulnerable populations and recommends an 'avoid, shift, improve' strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve accessibility and safety for all citizens.

• Urban air pollution is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa due to population growth, economic expansion, and motorization, resulting in approximately 49,000 deaths annually. The crisis is exacerbated by the use of fossil fuels, inadequate vehicle emission standards, and poor enforcement.
• Air quality monitoring is severely limited in the region; only eight countries—Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—have operational routine monitoring systems. South Africa is the only country with comprehensive air quality management.
• Sub-Saharan Africa experiences a disproportionately high rate of road fatalities relative to its vehicle population, accounting for more than 11% of global road deaths despite having less than 3% of the world's motor vehicles. Pedestrians and cyclists are the most affected groups.
• Traffic congestion in major urban centers is driven by ineffective public transport, poor road discipline, lack of integrated land-use policies, and inadequate infrastructure for walking and cycling. These impacts are rarely quantified or assessed.
• Transport planning in the region often prioritizes motorized mobility over accessibility, which marginalizes poor, elderly, disabled, and female populations. In rural areas, poor transport access is a primary constraint on agricultural development and poverty alleviation.
• While Africa has the lowest historical greenhouse gas emissions of any continent, emissions are growing rapidly due to increased fossil-fuel use and a fleet of poorly maintained, imported used vehicles.
• The document recommends an 'Avoid, Shift, Improve' (A-S-I) strategy to achieve low-carbon transport: avoiding unnecessary travel, shifting demand from cars to public or non-motorized transport, and improving the efficiency of fossil-fuel vehicles.

APA

Schwela, D., & Haq, G. (2013). Transport and Environment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-pb-2013-africa-transport.pdf

Chicago

Schwela, Dieter, and Gary Haq. Transport and Environment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2013. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-pb-2013-africa-transport.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Schwela |first1=Dieter |last2=Haq |first2=Gary |title=Transport and Environment in Sub-Saharan Africa |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2013 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-pb-2013-africa-transport.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{schwela2013transport, author = {Schwela, Dieter and Haq, Gary}, title = {{Transport and Environment in Sub-Saharan Africa}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2013}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-pb-2013-africa-transport.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }