New survey method could lead to faster UXO clearance

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) has suggested that unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Laos be cleared using a land release survey method to speed up clearance work.

To support the government in fulfilling its obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the NPA has carried out trials of different methods to survey and map cluster bomb contaminant, according to a report from the NPA.


The NPA has also indentified land that is suspected of being contaminated with UXO but can actually be released to the community and put to productive use, NPA Operations Manager Mr Tony Fish reported to a meeting on UXO clearance activities under a NPA project held in Vientiane yesterday.
Trials of the land release survey method have already been carried out in Saravan and Xekong provinces, but not yet in Attapeu province because NPA’s Attapeu teams are currently undergoing training on land release survey procedures, he said.

The trials proved successful and the results were presented to an international audience at the 1st Meeting of States Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Vientiane in November last year.
“NPA survey teams from Cambodia and Vietnam have visited our field operations in Laos to study the procedures and apply them in those countries,” said Mr Fish.

“After successful trials, we know the location of UXO in each village and district and then provide information to villagers on affected areas and work with village authorities to plan future clearance activities.”

The information is also useful for other development organisations wishing to know where UXO-affected areas are and which areas need to be cleared before a project can begin.
NPA carries out clearance in villages allocated to it by UXO Laos, Mr Fish said.

“Before any clearance can be carried out, our survey teams visit the villages that are under NPA’s responsibility and speak to the villagers to find out what clearance is required,” he explained.

A survey report is then made, which includes a map of the area that the land owners need to be cleared.
“During this process we have found that many of these areas have low contamination, while many times the villages have no contamination at all,” he said.

“To avoid this in the future, we will change the way surveys are carried out and combine general surveys with land release surveys.”

“This way, we will know which areas that we have received clearance requests for actually have cluster munitions contamination.”

From July 2009 to July 2011, NPA clearance teams surveyed more than 6 million square metres and about 1.4 million of those were cleared, with around 2,200 UXO items found.

Mr Fish said that next year the NPA clearance teams should be able to survey and clear double the land area they cleared in the past year as they have more experience.

NPA began UXO survey and clearance work with two teams in Saravan, Xekong and Attapeu provinces in 2009, before expanding that to three teams in each province in 2010.

NPA implements activities in these provinces as they are areas where UXO has high impacts on local communities and working in the three neighbouring provinces allows NPA to be flexible and cost-effective in moving personnel, vehicles and equipment depending on operational and training requirements.

The meeting was also attended by National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action Sector in Laos Director Mr Phoukhieo Chanhthasomboune and Norwegian People’s Aid Country Director Mr Atle Karlsen.

Source: Vientiane Times
By Khamphone Syvongxay
(Latest Update August 31, 2011)

Japan backs UXO clearance in Attapeu province

On the first anniversary of the Convention on Cluster Munitions coming into force, the government of Japan has agreed to provide grant assistance worth US$434,239 to the Japan Mine Action Service (JMAS), according to the Embassy of Japan to Laos.

JMAS, a Japanese NGO working in Laos primarily in the area of UXO, will implement the “Support to Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Programme (UXO Lao) in Attapeu province (The First Stage)” project under the Grant Assistance Scheme for Japanese NGO Projects.

The grant contract for the project was signed on Tuesday at the Embassy of Japan in Vientiane between the Charge dAffaires a.i. of the embassy, Mr Shigeru Omori, and a representative of the JMAS Lao office, Mr Junichi Kurokawa.

This project will be carried out in Attapeu province in cooperation with UXO Lao from August 2011-2012. JMAS specialists will educate people on the proper techniques for UXO clearance and conduct community awareness activities in the province to ensure safer livelihoods for residents of the province.

JMAS has already completed a five-year UXO clearance project in Xieng Khuang province (2006-2011) and a one-year project in Attapeu province (2010-2011), the embassy reported.

By Times Reporters 
(Latest Update August 04, 2011)

Laos looks to speed up UXO clearance

Laos is looking for ways to speed up the clearance of unexplored ordnance (UXO) throughout the country, National Regulatory Authority (NRA) Director Mr Phoukhieo Chanthasomboun said on Monday.

“We're currently consulting with Japan about the possibility of using that country's vehicles for UXO clearance operations in Laos,” he said.

The NRA has also sent a team to visit Cambodia to observe UXO clearance operations involving similar specially-equipped vehicles.

If Laos receives support in the form of vehicles from Japan, UXO clearance in Laos may proceed faster, Mr Phoukhieo explained.

“With these vehicles we will be able to clear large areas of land like rice fields and school or irrigation construction projects much faster,” he said.

Revolving teams of UXO clearance workers will continue to work in villages contaminated with UXO and in places the vehicles cannot access, including mountainous areas.

Each UXO clearance vehicle uses about 20 litres of petrol to clear one hectare of land in an hour, he said.
Under the Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Programme (UXO Lao), it currently takes a team of 9-11 people almost two months to clear one hectare of land.

UXO Lao currently spends about US$1,800 to US$2,500 per hectare, depending on the level of contamination.
Japan has already provided neighbouring Cambodia with around 40 vehicles for clearance activities.
In addition to the vehicles, Laos is also looking to involve specially-trained dogs in UXO clearance operations, according to the NRA.

Many NGOs, including Norwegian People's Aid in Saravan province, are hopeful of using dogs in their clearance operations.

Mr Phoukhieo said dogs can work very fast to find bombs because they can detect the gunpowder in UXO.
UXO clearance is slow at present because workers have difficulty differentiating UXO from other iron located underground, including burst shells, he said.

More than 30,000 hectares of land were cleared between 1996 and May 2011.

It is estimated that out of the 2 million tonnes of bombs, including 288 million cluster bombs, that were dropped on Laos between 1964 and 1973, approximately 30 percent did not detonate.

During this time, a total of 580,000 deadly bombing missions were conducted. That's one bombing mission every eight minutes around the clock for nine years.

By Khonesavanh Latsaphao 
(Latest Update August 02, 2011)

LAOS MARKS ANNIVERSARY OF CLUSTER MUNITIONS CONVENTION

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Thongloun Sisoulith has delivered a message to mark the first anniversary since the Convention on Cluster Munitions came into force on August 1, 2010.

Dr Thongloun stressed that it was the responsibility of all humanity to protect people from cluster munitions.

Dr Thongloun Sisoulith.

“Eradicating the use of cluster munitions is a top foreign policy issue for the government,” he added.

Laos is one of the first signatories to the convention and remains the most heavily bombed country in history. More than 2 million tonnes of ordinance were dropped on Laos between 1964 and 1973 during the Indochina war.

The convention to outlaw cluster munitions was agreed by 107 states on 30 May 2008 in Dublin and so far 109 countries are party to the convention and 59 have ratified the agreement.

The First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention took place in Vientiane in November 2010.

“We will work resolutely to uphold our obligations under the treaty, especially in regard to the dissemination of information on cluster munitions. We hope to persuade as many countries as possible to become party to the convention,” Dr Thongloun said.

Dr Thongloun said that 87,000 square kilometres of the country’s 236,800 square kilometre remains covered in unexploded ordinance which is the single biggest issue facing the country – however so far the clearance efforts have been far too slow.

The government established the Lao National UXO Programme (UXO Lao) in 1995 and in 2003 adopted “The Safe Path Forward,” a national strategy for UXO clearance for 2003 – 2013 and a second ten year strategy is currently being drafted. The plan focuses on clearing priority areas for development, victim assistance and raising community awareness.

Poverty levels and unexploded ordinance are closely related, with most of the poorest districts suffering from extensive land contamination.

Source: Vientiane Times
By Khonesavanh Latsaphao
(Latest Update August 1, 2011)