Description:
Transportation routes through mountain regions have always been of vital importance not just for mountain dwellers but also for traders between regions. In the Caucasus, transport routes are of immense importance as they connect Asia and Europe and facilitate the transportation of crucial industrial inputs from one continent to the other. Increase in freight transportation occurred between the 1970s and 1980s and regained momentum in the late 1990s. While economic development of the region is important the impacts on the environment should not be left out of the calculation. Roads and oil and gas pipelines cut through forests, protected areas or mountain chains.