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2009

Charles Downs

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Emergency and Disaster Management

Survey And Land Release: Lessons From Recent Country Experience, Charles Downs Aug 2009

Survey And Land Release: Lessons From Recent Country Experience, Charles Downs

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Suspected Hazardous Areas bring fear to local communities and hinder socioeconomic development, but in most cases the majority of the land contains no mines at all. Survey for land release may put an end to this fear, and it allows for an accelerated solution to the landmine problem.


Making Land Release In Mozambique Operational, Antonio Belchior, Charles Downs Aug 2009

Making Land Release In Mozambique Operational, Antonio Belchior, Charles Downs

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Mozambique’s national program for land release has cleared many Suspected Hazardous Areas in the past eight years, but the Instituto Nacional de Desminagem (National Demining Institute) aims to make the program even more effective. In March 2009, IND collaborated with the Survey Action Center to host a workshop at which land release terminology and concepts were discussed, hoping that improved survey methodologies would lead to a more efficient land-release process. The workshop resulted in the creation of national land-release draft elements and criteria that will help to develop practical land-release standards in the near future.


International Support To Mine Action In Colombia: Mitigating Impact And Protecting Rights, Charles Downs Jul 2009

International Support To Mine Action In Colombia: Mitigating Impact And Protecting Rights, Charles Downs

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Ending the decades-long violence in Colombia is the only way to eliminate all landmines from the country. Until that time, there is a need to mitigate their impact, minimize the number of new victims and assure better assistance to survivors.


Mapping Development Organizations: Success Depends On Mine Action, Charles Downs Jul 2009

Mapping Development Organizations: Success Depends On Mine Action, Charles Downs

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Development initiatives around the world stand to gain from stronger collaboration with the mine-action community; however, this relationship is all too often underappreciated in areas where conflict has mandated resuscitating infrastructure, revitalizing the economy and resettling displaced persons. The Survey Action Center’s ongoing project on development organizations’ use (and occasionally misuse) of mine-action information intends to help mend the partnership between mine-action and non-mine-action actors.