Rural Road Engineering in Developing Countries

Jasper Cook is a Chartered Geologist with an undergraduate degree in Geology, an MSc in Engineering Geology and a PhD in Civil Engineering. He has over fifty years of experience as an engineering geologist/geotechnical engineer/climate resilience specialist primarily in the fields of infrastructure development, capacity building and research management. Over 30 years of this time has been spent on projects with emerging nations in Africa and Asia, most notably with UKAID-DFID, World Bank and Asian Development Bank on rural road network development programmes. He is currently advising the World Bank on climate resilience and road engineering issues for multiple transport projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and South East Asia. He is the Author of a wide range of peer-reviewed papers on aspects of engineering geology, geotechnics and road engineering.

Robert Christopher Petts has more than 50 years of professional experience working in over 40 African, Middle Eastern, Asian, Pacific and European countries, of which 44 years have been involved with developing countries and transport infrastructure for inter-urban routes and rural communities. He has been involved with the development of systems, technologies and techniques appropriate for a range of limited resource environments; making best use of local resources such as labour, materials, enterprises and locally made equipment. He has advised various countries on development of government policy and strategy. He played a leading role in drafting rural road pavement, structures and maintenance sections within the Ethiopian and South Sudan Rural Road Manuals. He is author of a number of sector reference documents, such as the WRA (PIARC) International Road Maintenance Handbook and the Handbook of Intermediate Equipment for roadworks in Developing and Emerging Regions. He is co-author of the international Low Volume Rural Road Surfacing and Pavements - A Guide to Good Practice, and the gTKP Small Structures for Rural Roads Guideline. He is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow for the University of Birmingham and advisor to the London University School of Oriental and African Studies.