The social and economic impacts of a logging access road: a case study of Marudi Town, Sarawak, Malaysia.

Abstract

The biggest problem of Marudi Town, the major town of the districts in Sarawak, Malaysia, is the lack of an access road to connect it to the outside world, especially to the nearest city, Miri City. The Sarawak state government argued that the main reason for not providing an access road between Marudi and Miri was to reduce rural-urban migration. Since July 2005, a logging access road built by a logging company has made the Marudi Town community accessible to Miri City by land transportation. This thesis examines the social and economic impacts of the logging access road on the Marudi Town community since July 2005. A case study approach has been applied and two models of access road have been examined. The first model argues that rural access roads stimulate outward migration, while the second model suggests that access roads facilitate rural economic development. Data has been collected through questionnaire surveys, face-to-face in depth interviews, field observation and secondary data analysis. The results show that outward migration occurred before the existence of the logging access road, and the justification given by the state government for not providing an access road between Marudi Town and Miri City is questioned by the local people. Various positive impacts have been created since July 2005; namely an increase in weekend residents and visitors, improvement in the mobility of local people, land accessibility which resulting on saving human lives, more job opportunities, increased local business activities and the expanding ownership of private vehicles. However, due to the weight restrictions of vehicles and the bad condition of the logging access road, the potential positive impacts are limited.