if 在此為連詞,意思為“即使,縱然”,可以換成 "even though"不對(duì)吧？變?yōu)閑ven though 意思解釋不通。if 在此是針對(duì)underdeveloped，表達(dá)意思為：即使資源豐富，但依然欠發(fā)達(dá)的...

如果 if 換成 "even though"，句型也須稍加變化，成為：

The pain is being felt most keenly in the west and south-west of the country where they are underdeveloped even though they are resource-rich.