Digital Commons Network^™

Increasing The Impact Of Mine-Action Surveys, Charles Downs

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

While mine-action surveys are an important tool in mine clearance, there are several challenges that must be overcome for survey results to be fully effective. Some of these changes include alterations in priority setting, information management and impact scoring. This article presents some potential obstacles to completing and evaluating mine-action surveys and proposes possible solutions to these challenges to increase their effectiveness and impact.

Departure Of The Devil: Landmines And Livelihoods In Yemen, Yemen Executive Mine Action Centre

Global CWD Repository

This study was commissioned by YEMAC and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) with the following objectives:

1. To assess the overall socio-economic returns from mine clearance investments

2. To make a preliminary assessment of complementary development initiatives for mine-affected communities.

3.To enhance the capacity of YEMAC to conduct future assessments of socio-economic benefits from mine action; assess the community Landmine Impact Scores as a tool for identifying impact and determining priorities for action; advise on how to design ad conduct on-going socio-economic surveys relating to ERW; advise on integrating social differentiation within LIS survey protocols, and advise …

Explosive Remnants Of War In The Republic Of Croatia, Drazen Simunovic

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Explosive remnants of war represent a constant threat to normal life and activities of the population living in mine-affected areas in the Republic of Croatia. The author considers the extent and impact of unexploded ordnance and other ERW contaminating the country as a consequence of military operations between 1991 and 1995.

Protection Of Soft Vehicles Against Erw, Thomas Hvidtfeldt

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The author discusses the challenges of protecting aid workers riding in traditional unarmoured vehicles from the dangers of explosive remnants of war. He offers some practical, after-market solutions that provide a high level of protection for much less than the cost of traditional armoured vehicles.

Cluster Munitions And Erw In Lebanon, Daniele Ressler, Elizabeth Wise

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The recent 34-day conflict between the Lebanese armed faction Hezbollah and Israel from July 12 to August 14, 2006, saw extensive use of surface-launched munitions and air-dropped munitions (to a lesser degree), resulting in wartime casualties for military and civilian actors in both Lebanon and Israel. Since the ceasefire agreement, international post-conflict attention has become focused on Lebanon due to the large number of explosive remnants of war left behind after the conflict. In particular, cluster munitions are proving problematic for post-conflict reconstruction activities in Lebanon due to their apparent high failure rate and the potential threat they pose to …

Information Management System For Mine Action In Sudan, Mohammad Kabir

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Information Management System for Mine Action is a globally used and internationally accepted database and software system that allows mine-action programmes to efficiently correlate and evaluate information. In addition, IMSMA provides powerful tools to rapidly disseminate information on hazardous areas and other important aspects of mine action by providing digital as well as printed maps and statistics.

Explosive Harvesting Program, Roger Hess

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Explosive Harvesting Program is a research and development program funded by the U.S. Department of Defense Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate Humanitarian Demining Research and Development Program. The concept was designed by Golden West Humanitarian Foundation and is being jointly developed with the Cambodian Mine Action Centre.

Visor Scratch Repair And Prevention, Andrew Heafitz, Benjamin Linder, Marta Luczynska, Mark Scott

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Severe eye injuries occur in 30 percent of demining accidents. Visors are known to be effective personal protective equipment when worn properly, but deminers often lift or remove their visors because scratches, glare or fog make them hard to see through, or because they are hot, heavy and uncomfortable to wear. Addressing each of these specific design problems could increase visor use and prevent a significant number of debilitating injuries. This paper presents methods for preventing and eliminating scratches on demining visors.

Finally, Safe Demining, Vinicius Souza, Maria Eugênia Sá

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Following a series of mistakes that caused hundreds of accidents—many fatal—a new battalion of the National Police of Peru now ensures demining quality for 1,711 power transmission towers.

Itep Test And Evaluation Of Humanitarian Demining Equipment, 2006, Franciska Borry

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The ITEP Work Plan 2006 compiles all test and evaluation activities that will be carried out during 2006 by the ITEP member countries, either as single-country activities or as ITEP collaborative efforts. The following summary provides an update on collaborative test activities initiated during 2005 and continuing in 2006, including also some of the new test and evaluation efforts envisaged.

Minewolf Flail And Tiller Machines: Testing The Differences Between Two Demining Technologies, Heinz Rath, Dieter Schröder

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

MineWolf is the first demining concept, manufactured in Germany by Arthur Willibald Maschinenbau GmbH (AHWI), that overcomes the limitations of flail and tiller machines by combining the advantages of both systems. Extensive tests with live anti-tank and fragmentation mines were carried out at the German Army proving ground to determine whether the MineWolf meets the operational requirements for humanitarian demining. The aim was to discover the effects of detonations on the operator, MineWolf, clearing tools and cabin, and to work out instructions for reparability.

Throwing Out Mines: The Effects Of A Flail, Ian Mclean, Rebecca Sargisson, Johannes Dirscherl, Håvard Bach

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The authors discuss a study conducted on flail machines to prove the effectiveness of this technology in destroying anti-personnel mines.

Report On The Mine Clearing Rake Test, Ida, U.S. Humanitarian Demining Research And Development, Office Of The Assistant Secretary Of Defense Special Operations And Low-Intensity Conflict

Global CWD Repository

The purpose of the operational evaluation test was to assess the ability of the mine clearing rake (MCR) to enhance the effectiveness of a humanitarian demining mission. To this end, the HD PM purchased an MCR and initiated the testing process.

Operational Demining Tasks Considered for the MCR: Based on the claims made regarding the MCR's performance, three distinct HD phases were considered for assessing the MCR's capabilities. These were the area preparation, demining, and quality assurance phases. Of the three, the area preparation and demining phases were considered poor choices for the MCR since it required driving the primary …

Master Thesis: Evaluation Of Embeddedness Of Humanitarian Mine Action Programs Funded By The Netherlands, For The Period 1996–2004, Michiel Van Bokhorst

Global CWD Repository

This research describes the evaluation of the HMA programs that are funded by the Netherlands for the period 1996–2004, specifically on their embeddedness into a broader development strategy. Embeddedness is defined as the extent in which other humanitarian objectives and programs are attached, combined or integrated with HMA programs. Embeddedness has increasingly attracted attention, because landmines and ERW are a direct threat to individuals and communities, but also indirectly by being a barrier for short-term emergency interventions and long-term development efforts. Nevertheless the Netherlands does not directly mention embeddedness of HMA in neither its HMA policy paper nor its 2003 …

Assessment Into Operational Mine/Uxo Clearance Activities In Kosovo, Vera Bohle, Phil Bean

Global CWD Repository

In detail the review team conducted a systematic review of the Task Dossiers held by the EOD Management Section to determine whether appropriate actions have been undertaken to declare Dangerous Areas (DAs) as being either cleared, cancelled, or to designate the DA as being a future clearance task. Due to the limited time of the evaluation a sample of 156 Dangerous Areas or Minefields (not counting CBU strike duplicates) included in 90 different Task Dossiers were investigated through the application of an agreed methodology. The selection of Task Dossiers did not follow coincidental or average sampling procedures, but was guided …

Mines And Erw, Bob Kudyba

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Due to the history and nature of conflicts in the Ethiopia/Eritrea area, cleanup presents specific considerations and hazards. The lessons learned by the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea Mine Action Coordination Centre in mine/explosive remnants of war cleanup are presented, as well as recommendations on clearance operations for situations with mixed mine/ ERW like that in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Systematic Test & Evaluation Of Metal Detectors: Interim Report Field Trials Mozambique, Dieter Guelle, Adam Lewis

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission published at the end of 2005 another interim report for the STEMD project. This article gives background on the project and report and some results and recommendations of the trial. The authors hope this article will pique interest in the full report.

Test And Evaluation Of Japanese Gpr-Based Ap Mine Detection Systems Mounted On Robotic Vehicles, Jun Ishikawa, Mitsuru Kiyota, Katsuhisa Furuta

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This article introduces Japanese activities regarding a project, “Research and Development of Sensing Technology, Access and Control Technology to Support Humanitarian Demining of AP Mines.” This project, which includes the research of six teams from academia and industry, has been funded by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEX T). The developed systems are equipped with both groundpenetrating radar and a metal detector, and they are designed to make no explicit alarm and to leave decision-making of detection using subsurface images to the operators. To evaluate …

Opening Roads To Angola’S Future, Daniela Kempf

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Angola’s Road Threat Reduction Project, funded by the Humpty Dumpty Institute, cleared heavily mined roads in the country’s Planalto region. The project made safe travel possible among the over 200 small communities and other bordering nations. With help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and HALO Trust, HDI opened several roads for the Angolan people, creating new possibilities for the developing government.

Minefield As A School Ground: The Tzur Baher Minefield Clearance Project, Bentzi Telefus

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

With so many factors limiting the education process in the Middle East, it is hard to believe that one more could be imposed upon the people of Tzur Baher, a village in Jerusalem. However, the presence of a minefield in their village severely hindered progress in the building of a school. Maavarim Civil Engineering Ltd. was brought in to begin work. The planned site for the school is now mine free, and construction is scheduled to start in the near future.

Power Tillers And Snails For Demining In Sri Lanka, Emanuela Cepolina

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This paper presents a project the author has been working on since January 2005 in the context of her doctoral research and offers some of the first results. The topic concerns the participatory design and development of a distributed system for humanitarian-demining operations in Sri Lanka. The completed research is expected to encompass the relationship among landmines, humanitarian technologies and development. This article looks at the adaptation of power tillers for demining applications in Sri Lanka using a participatory design methodology called the Snail System.

To Walk The Earth In Safety 6th Edition (Fy2004 And 2005), Us Dos Pm/Wra

Global CWD Repository

This sixth edition of To Walk the Earth in Safety summarizes the accomplishments of the inter-agency U.S. Humanitarian Mine Action Program for fiscal years 2004 and 2005. In a strict sense, it is a combined annual report for two years on what was then and still is the world’s largest such program. But it is also a chapter in a real-life story that has a beginning, middle, and, we now know because of more than fifteen years of practical experience, an end.

Public safety and regional stability can be endangered by illegally traffi cked small arms and light weapons, abandoned …

Mine Action In Afghanistan: The Way Ahead, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

This paper presents the strategy for the Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan (MAPA), as the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is committed to the vision of a country free from landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), where people and communities live in a safe environment conducive to national development, and where landmine and ERW survivors are fully integrated in the society and thus have their rights and needs recognized and fulfilled. The Way Ahead paper provides a vision and establishes end goals for the Afghan mineaction programme that are consistent with Afghanistan’s Ottawa Treaty obligations. Moreover, the strategy paper was …

Evaluation Of The Task Assessment And Planning (Tap) Project In Five Provinces Of Cambodia, Canadian International Development Agency

Global CWD Repository

The evaluation explains the context of the TAP project in Cambodia, the task assessment and planning projects, methods and measures, as well as results. The study also provides as summary assessment, discusses lessons learned and lists recommendations. The Task Assessment and Planning (TAP) Project has come at a critical juncture for mine action in Cambodia. It is a time when a few donors, Canada among them, argue strongly that mine action is best served by building capacity among provincial government groups for setting mine action priorities. Few donors would take exception to this in principle, but in practice the more …

Strategy For Mine Action - Sri Lanka 2006, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

The strategy of the Government of Sri Lanka is to address the mines problem in the Districts of Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Trincomalee and Batticaloa and the Northern Border of Ampara District with a view to survey and clear all the mines in the High Priority areas and a major portion of the Medium Priority areas by mid-2007, except in the Jaffna and Trincomalee Districts. This strategy does not include any of the High Security Zones in the Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar and Trincomalee Districts. These areas are under the jurisdiction of the Sri Lanka Army, which is in occupation …

Building Local Mine Action Capacity In Guinea-Bissau, Tracy Brown

Global CWD Repository

Specifically, the project sought to strengthen local capacity for Mine Action in accordance with International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) through budget support, technical assistance and accompaniment to HUMAID. The project was to benefit HUMAID's 77 staff members (deminers, other field staff, administrative and management personnel), and indirectly, the population of Bissau whose livelihoods would improve as a result of the reduced threat from landmines and UXO. In the end, direct beneficiaries also included deminers of LUTCAM, the one other mine clearance NGO in Guinea Bissau whose deminers participated in HI-facilitated technical training, and the staff of the national Mine Action …

A Study Of The Role Of Survey In Mine Action, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

"In many ways, mine action management is as much about information as it is about landmines.” This statement was one of the central conclusions of the GICHD Study of Socio-Economic Approaches to Mine Action. In seeking to obtain the necessary information to plan and manage programmes effectively, mine action has seen a considerable number of surveys carried out. In particular, a number of surveys have sought to record the location and scale of hazardous areas, and, increasingly, an assessment of their social and economic impact as well as the success of mine clearance projects.

However, it is a daunting task …

National Explosive Remnants Of War Response Study, Cambodia, Dave Mccracken, Bruce Powell, Leng Sochea

Global CWD Repository

The purpose of this study was to initiate a strategic dialogue through an assessment of the explosive remnants of war (ERW) issues facing the future of the mine action sector in Cambodia. The report takes stock of the mine action situation, analyses the broad issues of ERW contamination and determines the needs for an effective long-term National ERW Response thrugh the process of "End State Programming". It is the first step towards comprehending existing explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) operational data and a wealth of un-analysed data on aerial bombardment that have not been fully exploited to define the scope of …

Guidebook On Detection Technologies And Systems For Humanitarian Demining, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

The aim of this publication is to provide the mine action community, and those supporting mine action, with a consolidated review and status summary of detection technologies that could be applied to humanitarian demining operations. This Guidebook is meant to provide information to a wide variety of readers. For those not familiar with the spectrum of technologies being considered for the detection of landmines and for area reduction, there is a brief overview of the principle of operation for each technology as well as a summary listing of the strengths, limitations, and potential for use of the technology to humanitarian …

Evaluation Report Of Technical Survey Operations Within The Cambodian Mine Action Centre, Hemi Morete, Tim Lardner

Global CWD Repository

The evaluation considered technical survey activities at both the technical and strategic levels in order to assess the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) technical survey capacity established in 2003. The assessment was conducted in four phases. The first phase was a document study which enabled the evaluation team to gain an understanding of the procedures and processes used within CMAC for technical survey. The second phase involved interviews with key stakeholders in Phnom Penh, and phase three consisted of a series of field visits to CMAC technical survey assets operating in Demining Units 1, 2, and 3. The fourth and …