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Applying "All Reasonable Effort" In The Falkland Islands Mine Clearance Programme: Encouraging Efficient, Confident, And Timely Evidence-Based Land Release Decision Making, David Hewitson, Guy Marot

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Falkland Islands Mine Clearance Programme (FI MCP) ran from 2009 to 2020, through five operational phases, some lasting only a few months, some extending across several years. A core objective was to release land as efficiently as possible, only applying technical assets to those specific areas of land that justified such attention. This article describes the approach that was adopted to determine whether all reasonable effort (ARE) had been applied to each task in such a way that current (and future) stakeholders would have confidence in that decision so as to manage the fear of mines being missed.

Data-Driven Decision-Making In Southeast Asia, Mikael Bold, David Avenell

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Automated management information systems to enhance decision-making abilities are becoming more important today. Funding and resources are scarce, but technological developments are making it possible to conduct sophisticated analyses that will enhance planning and prioritization: doing more with less. Centered around optimization and efficiency, the geographic information system (GIS) tools provided by Esri¹ have been crucial in providing MAG (Mines Advisory Group)with decision-making software.

First Steps To Limiting Conflict Pollution In Central Vietnam, Allan R. Vosburgh

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Awareness and concern are growing worldwide regarding pollution resulting from conflicts. In Vietnam, decades of wars have left a legacy of contaminated land and increasingly polluted water. Golden West Humanitarian Foundation (Golden West) believes future success in eliminating explosive remnants of war (ERW) will depend on highly-skilled, dedicated Vietnamese technicians who can apply training, tools, and techniques that mitigate ERW without unnecessarily adding new contaminants to the environment. Open detonations always contribute steel fragments and particles of explosive residue in the ground along with smoke and detonation products in the air. Golden West is helping to develop facilities, technology, and …

Measuring Explosive Munitions Use With Open-Source Data: A New Tool For Enhancing Humanitarian Mine Action, Jonathan Robinson, Christoph Baade

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since 2011, there has been widespread use of explosive weapons—including conventional weapons, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and landmines—by all sides in the Syrian conflict.¹ As is known from other contexts, a proportion of these either fail to detonate, becoming unexploded ordnance (UXO), or are abandoned by combatants to become abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO).² Long after conflicts have ended, these explosive remnants of war (ERW) endure as multi-generational threats to a community’s population and future development.³

How To Implement Drones And Machine Learning To Reduce Time, Costs, And Dangers Associated With Landmine Detection, Jasper Baur, Gabriel Steinberg, Alex Nikulin Ph.D., Kenneth Chiu Ph.D., Timothy De Smet Ph.D.

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Two rapidly emerging technologies revolutionizing scientific problem solving are unpiloted aerial systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones, and deep learning algorithms.¹ Our study combines these two technologies to provide a powerful auxiliary tool for scatterable landmine detection. These munitions are traditionally challenging for clearance operations due to their wide area of impact upon deployment, small size, and random minefield orientation. Our past work focused on developing a reliable UAS capable of detecting and identifying individual elements of PFM-1 minefields to rapidly assess wide areas for landmine contamination, minefield orientation, and possible minefield overlap. In our most recent proof-of-concept …

The Exploitation Of Landmines In The Falkland Islands, Colin King

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Throughout the eleven-year mine clearance program in the Falkland Islands, the exploitation (disassembly, detailed analysis, and testing) of live mines was a regular feature. In addition to assessing the condition of the mines in order to optimize the safety and efficiency of the clearance process, there was intense interest in the subject of long-term residual risk.

The rigorous demining program was highly successful, and the Falkland Islands have now been declared clear. However, a mine recently washed up on the shore near the Capital, Stanley, and it’s possible that others will do so over the next few years. It is …

Saving Lives In Eastern Ukraine: Alternative Eore Approaches, Anonymous N/A

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Armed conflict has been ongoing in the east of Ukraine since 2014 and continues to have a fundamentally devastating impact on children, women, and men. With continuing hostilities and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating the dire humanitarian situation in the region, 3.4 million people are projected to be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2021. The elderly, persons with disabilities, female-headed households, and children are among the most vulnerable. Additionally, the large-scale population displacement from government and nongovernment controlled areas (GCA and NGCA respectively) of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, separated by the 427-km-long contact line, remains one of the highest concerns.