Cross-border transportation networks have expanded throughout Southeast Asia over the past two decades. One of these, The East West Economic Corridor (EWEC) has resulted in the economic and cultural integration across borders of communities. The livelihoods, well-being, and development prospects of these cross-border communities come to rely on the defacto open borders along the EWEC. During the COVID-19 pandemic movement were disrupted with potentially grave consequences for the welfare of the cross-border community’s inhabitants. This presentation discusses the results of the project, “Sustainable Cross-Border Community Development and Management in the East-West Economic Corridor in the time of COVID-19”, which was supported by the Toyota International Grant Program 2020. The project worked with cross-border communities located at the two international border crossings within the corridor of Savannakhet, Laos/Mukdahan, Thailand, and Mae Sot, Thailand/Myawaddy, Myanmar. The project examined the changes that have occurred to people’s livelihoods and within the cross-border communities due to the EWEC, and assessed the impacts of COVID-19 on the locals. Key findings are: (1) identification of cross-border networks; local people cross borders through both permanent and traditional/natural checkpoints; (2) impacts of the EWEC; positive impact such as new employment opportunities was informed, while negative impacts such as loss of land, less solidarity and drug addiction were pointed out; (3) impacts of COVID-19: negative impacts including loss of income from trading of goods, fishing, sand mining, tourists, agricultural labour as well as new social crime, were recorded; and (4) cross-border issues related to agriculture, commerce and environment were determined.
