Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Community Participation In Mine Action: Study In Kwanza Sul Province, Angola, Ruth Bottomley

Global CWD Repository

In line with the Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) international strategy, which promotes a rights-based partnership approach, the NPA is committed to exploring new approaches to mine action that promote greater involvement of the local mine affected populations. A starting point in this process is a review and conceptual framework paper prepared for NPA by Ruth Bottomley. Through a review of existing documents, the paper provides a reflection on why community participation is important in mine action and outlines some of the challenges. Existing examples of community participation in mine action are compiled with documented strengths and weaknesses.

Regional Cooperation In Mine Action: The Case Of South-Eastern Europe, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Mine action has tended to develop on a national basis. However, the experience of South-Eastern Europe has shown that a broader, regional approach can bring greater effectiveness and efficiency to mine action projects and programmes.

The main achievements of this regional approach have been to lower costs for demining (especially through international competitive bidding) while seeking to promote a high quality of work, in particular through the quality management processes of the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF). The ITF also believes that its work has improved donor strategies for the region as well as priority …

Detection Of Landmines By Dogs: Environmental And Behavioural Determinants, Ian Mclean, Rebecca Sargisson, Ian Mansfield

Global CWD Repository

The overall aim of the study was to explore the effects of environmental variables on mine detection by dogs. Operational mine detection dogs were used to search for mines in a test mine field, near Kabul, Afghanistan. The key variable used in the analysis was whether a mine was found or missed by the dog. Measured during the study were: o Weather patterns through the year of the study. Weather variables (temperature, wind, humidity) at the time the dog crossed the mine. Dog behaviour. Vegetation over the mine. A soil sample was taken from over the mine and from a …

In-Country Trials Cambodia: Minehound, Arnold Schoolderman

Global CWD Repository

In the framework of the in-country trials of the hand-held dual-sensor system Minehound in Cambodia, tests additional to the main trials are executed. In this document two of these additional tests are reported. Both are blind tests. In the first test the ability of the local deminers to discriminate mine-like targets from indigenous clutter with the help of the Minehound is examined. In the second test the ability of these deminers to discriminate adjacently buried low-metal targets and targets that contain a lot of metal, is investigated. These tests were executed mid August 2005 at the test site that was …

A Review Of Ten Years Assistance To The Mine Action Programme In Mozambique, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Mine action has played a role in Mozambique's achievements over the past decade by opening infrastructure networks, reducing the toll of casualties from landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), assisting landline survivors, and clearing hazards that posed a danger to lives and a constraint on development for many communities. As is true for most activities in Mozambique, observers with the benefit of hindsight can point to many ways in which mine action organisations and the programme overall could have done better. But in broad terms, the outcomes are positive. Casualties are down dramatically, and travel in the country is basically unimpeded …

Mine Detection Dogs: Operations

Global CWD Repository

The study is laid out as four case studies of five organisations (two organisations in Croatia are described in one case study). A commentary is included in each case study as a discussion, and summarising comments are made in the final chapter.

Readers will recognise that each case study is essentially a snapshot of the operational structure of the organisation at the time that the study was done. MDD technology is still in development and all MDD systems are constantly being reviewed and updated. Several of the programmes studied here have undergone significant restructuring since the study was done. Thus …

Mine Detections Dogs: Operations - Case Studies Of Operational Systems, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

The study is laid out as four case studies of five organisations (two organisations in Croatia are described in one case study). A commentary is included in each case study as a discussion, and summarising comments are made in the final chapter. Readers will recognise that each case study is essentially a snapshot of the operational structure of the organisation at the time that the study was done. Each study took about a month to complete (including report writing) and seasonal and other limitations meant that it took several years to complete the series of studies. In each case, the …

Socio-Economic Baseline Survey, Nuba Mountains, Sudan, Final Draft Report, Danchurchaid

Global CWD Repository

Socio-economic baseline assessment of humanitarian mine action in Nuba mountains which will be used by DanChurchAid to inform development initiatives in future.

Optimizing Mine Action Policies And Practice, Alan Bryden

Global CWD Repository

Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) affect communities and individuals long after conflicts end and therefore have a profound effect on opportunities for post-conflict peacebuilding. In the immediate post-conflict phase the presence, or simply the threat, of landmines can hamper refugee return and the implementation of humanitarian assistance programmes. They pose a long-term social, economic and environmental threat that denies the use of fertile land and access to water and affects flows of people, goods and services. There is also an important security risk from abandoned explosive ordnance stockpiles or caches which, if not properly secured or destroyed following the end …

Evaluation Of The Unmee Mine Action Coordination Centre, Frans Anema, Johanes Dirscherl, Ted Paterson, Phil Bean

Global CWD Repository

This evaluation was commissioned by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) via the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), which issued a request for proposals to eight organizations on September 2, 2004. On the basis of these proposals, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) was selected to conduct the evaluation. GICHD fielded a four member evaluation team, led by an independent consultant, to complete the assignment.

A Study Of Manual Mine Clearance, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Manual mine clearance is the fundamental tenet of mine action, yet has never been thoroughly analysed. The GICHD has managed a study into manual mine clearance analysing the history, management, methodologies and systems in use, risk assessment and risk management of the process and product and costings of manual mine clearance programmes. The report published shows that, whilst safety has improved significantly since the early days of mine clearance, there are still room for improvements in many areas. The study identifies positive examples of innovation and novel techniques that improve productivity and ultimately value for the donor and end user …

Operational Evaluation Test Of Mine Neutralization Systems, Ida, U.S. Humanitarian Demining Research And Development, Office Of The Assistant Secretary Of Defense Special Operations And Low-Intensity Conflict

Global CWD Repository

During the Fiscal Year 2003 Humanitarian Demining Research and Development Program Requirements Refinement Workshop, expert deminers expressed a need for a costbenefit and performance analysis for currently available deflagration (burning) and high-order (non-explosive binary mixture) mine neutralization systems, which carry fewer shipping restrictions compared with tradition explosives commonly used for mine neutralization. In response to this request, the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) Acquisition Center-Washington, D.C., published a Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) (formerly Commerce Business Daily) announcement (solicitation number W909MY-04-T0003) on 21 January 2004 on behalf of the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Command (CERDEC), Night Vision and Electronic Sensors …

Hd R&D Field Evaluation: Mantis, U.S. Humanitarian Demining Research And Development

Global CWD Repository

The success of the Mine Clearing Survivable Vehicle (MCSV) Proof of Performance Test was the result of the efforts of a large team of people from a number of organizations. The organizations involved were the U.S. Army’s Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) Humanitarian Demining (HD) Research and Development Office located at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia; the International Test and Evaluation Program for Humanitarian Demining (ITEP); and Pearson Engineering Ltd, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. This test was also a U.S. sponsored ITEP Test (ITEP Work Plan Number 3.2.5.). During the first phase of testing in August 2004, the Project Director, …

Operational Evaluation Test Report On Beaver Micro-Vegetation Cutter, Institute For Defense Analysis, U.S. Humanitarian Demining Research And Development, Office Of The Assistant Secretary Of Defense Special Operations And Low-Intensity Conflict

Global CWD Repository

The Micro-Vegetation Cutter (MVC) system was tested in the late summer and early fall of 2004 at a U.S. Army Countermine development site in central Virginia. The MVC project was funded by the U.S. Army’s Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), Countermine Division, Humanitarian Demining (HD) Research and Development Office located at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. The MVC system, consisting of a remote-controlled vegetation cutter vehicle and a command vehicle, is the product of the project engineer, Mr. J. Michael Collins. Mr. Collins was responsible for the concept, its design, and directed the MVC’s fabrication. All work was performed in …

Hd R&D Field Evaluation: Rotary Mine Comb, U.S. Humanitarian Demining Research And Development, Christopher Wanner

Global CWD Repository

This report documents the field testing of two vehicle-based, mine clearing systems both of which are based on the use of the Rotary Mine Combing Tool (RMCT). The test was designed to expand upon the body of knowledge developed by the maker of the RMCT as well as incorporate performance data related to the implementation of the tool in the two vehicles chosen to host the systems and elements of an operational concept for employment of the systems.

The Rotary Mine Comb is an innovative tool capable of gently extricating buried objects from the soil and pushing them to the …

Post War Legacy And Poverty: Case Study Of The Landmine/Uxo Problem In Rural Communities In Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, Duong Trong Hue

Global CWD Repository

Examines the links between postwar landmine/UXO contamination and poverty in two communes of Quang Tri Province.

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Mine Clearance Operations In Cambodia, Bjorn Gildestad

Global CWD Repository

This cost-benefit analaysis of mine clearance operations in Cambodia was launched by the national regulatory and coordinating body, the Cambodian Mine Action and Victims Assistance Authority (CMAA) in cooperation with UNDP. The socio-economic benefits of mine action was assessed covering the period since the start of the programme in 1992, and a cost benefit analysis model developed for the use of the Royal Government of Cambodia and stakeholders involved in mine clearance.

Landmine Impact Survey Data And Planning For Reconstruction, Bob Eaton

Global CWD Repository

This report is the result of a Survey Action Center consultancy for the UN Mine Action Centre Afghanistan on collecting reconstruction and/or planning data and how it can be combined with Landmine Impact Survey data for follow-up on reconstruction/planning, casualty reduction, and surveillance and development of field reporting systems.

Operational Evaluation Test Of Mine Clearing Cultivator And Mine Clearing Sifter, Institute For Defense Analysis, U.S. Humanitarian Demining Research And Development, Office Of The Assistant Secretary Of Defense Special Operations And Low-Intensity Conflict

Global CWD Repository

As the result of field experience gained in Egypt and Angola, the Humanitarian Demining Program Management Office (HDPMO) of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM), Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC), Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) undertook the design and fabrication of a heavy-soil cultivator to lift buried antitank (AT) and antipersonnel (AP) mines to the surface and move them off to the side in windrows. This unit was designated the Mine Clearing Cultivator (MCC). In addition, in 2002, the HDPMO also tested the ability of a modified agricultural sifter to remove mines from …