The ATO green roads profiles present country-level perspectives on how 35 Asia-Pacific economies are addressing the development and management of sustainable eco-friendly roads. Drawing from diverse datasets and policy documents, the profiles highlight practices and measures that contribute to greener transport infrastructure.

Developed by the Asian Transport Observatory (ATO) in partnership with the International Road Federation (IRF), the profiles are designed to complement the Green Roads Toolkit. The toolkit provides a practical reference for integrating good practices across nine dimensions:

• Decarbonization
• Climate resilience
• Water and land management
• Pollution reduction
• Conserving biodiversity
• Responsible sourcing of materials
• Improving quality of life
• Disaster preparedness
• Fostering inclusive growth

This 2025 edition builds on earlier work to provide a comprehensive resource for guiding the planning, development, construction, and management of greener, more sustainable roads.

Bhutan is a sanctuary with 72% forest cover and mostly clear air. However, the asphalt roads running through these mountains present a conflicting reality. The country's 18,500 km of roads act as its economic lifeline, yet they are becoming increasingly fragile. Though the road density is low at 485 meters per square kilometer, their environmental and social impacts are growing disproportionately.

The vehicle fleet is small, with 171 vehicles per 1,000 people—much lower than the Asia-Pacific average of 317. Still, the vehicle mix is skewed, with 59% being light-duty vehicles and 22% trucks. Public transport is nearly absent, with buses making up only 2%. Relying heavily on private fossil-fuel vehicles has significant consequences beyond these figures.

Road transport emissions reached 220,000 tonnes of CO2e in 2024, and this number is rising rapidly. Since 2000, emissions from road transport have grown at an average annual rate of 7.4%, outpacing the overall economic growth of 3.1%. Although efficiency has improved—emissions per unit dropped by 4.7% annually since 2015—the total carbon footprint continues to expand, driven by volume. Fossil fuel subsidies distort the market and hide the true costs per kilometer.

The Himalayan terrain complicates infrastructure development. Building in these mountains is costly, affecting stability and incurring an estimated annual climate-related damage cost of $4 million. Bridges and tunnels, though representing only 0.2% of the infrastructure, bear the brunt of the damage. Future risks include increased exposure to extreme precipitation, affecting more than a third of the road network under a 4.5-degree warming scenario.

Ecological concerns arise with the road network intersecting Bhutan's Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs). Roads pass through 20 of the 25 KBAs, leading to fragmentation. Despite a lower-than-regional average density, these zones face higher ecological risks at 42 meters per square kilometer. Large forest areas are shrinking into narrow wildlife corridors.

Access to roads remains a binary issue: either available or not. For 178,000 rural residents, the nearest all-season road is more than two kilometers away—a barrier in the mountains that isolates them from essential services and leaves them vulnerable during earthquakes and heavy rains. Conversely, urban areas face congestion, with 84% of residents spending over 30 minutes to reach major centers.

Economically vital, the transport sector accounts for 8.1% of household expenses and employs 18,000 people. However, women hold just 6.6% of these jobs. Road safety is a concern, with 95 lives lost in 2021. In Bhutan, road crash fatalities decreased by approximately -7.6% per year between 2016 and 2021. Bhutan will be able to halve its road crash fatalities by 2030 with this pace.

Bhutan is increasingly challenged to align its transport sector with its goal of being carbon negative. Road emissions have risen by 7.4 percent, outpacing overall economic growth, indicating that emissions are not decoupling from development. The road infrastructure is also highly susceptible to extreme weather, causing ongoing damage and losses. This situation demands a strategic shift towards climate-resilient, adaptive infrastructure instead of expansion-focused projects. Although there has been progress, nearly 20% of Bhutan's rural population still lacks all-season road access, worsening social and economic inequalities. Additionally, construction in key biodiversity areas has caused ecological harm, highlighting the urgent need for better environmental planning and ecological engineering standards.

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