Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Female Demining Teams In Tajikistan, Julieta Nikolova

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In addition to contributing to the safe release of landmine-contaminated land in Tajikistan, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) has pushed norms and traditions by incorporating an all-female demining team into its operations. Less than a year ago, imagining an all-female demining team operating in a country with strictly-defined gender roles was difficult.

Forces Generated By The Free Fall Of Demichain, Christian Baras, Bernard Gautier, Robert Goepfert, Jean-Pierre Hancy, Rene Joeckle

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The free fall of an array of heavy chains (360 kg/sq m) generates extensive pressure in the depth of the ground. These pressures have been measured and compared to the threshold pressures that trigger anti-personnel landmines. When dropped from moderate heights (1 m), chains can generate enough pressure to set off active landmines buried 20 cm, provided that the area of their pressure plates is larger than a few square centimeters.

Peacetrees' Eod Program In Vietnam, Claire Yunker

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

PeaceTrees Vietnam has explosive ordnance disposal programs in Dakrong and Huong Hoa, the two westernmost districts of Quang Tri province bordering Laos. Huong Hoa was the scene of the Battle of Keh Sanh in 1968. These mountainous districts lack sufficient infrastructure and are afflicted by extreme poverty. The districts include a large number of ethnic minorities who have no written language, do not speak Vietnamese and suffer injuries from unexploded ordnance at a higher rate than the ethnic Vietnamese in the region. The war severely impacted the two districts, and about 80 percent of the territory is considered contaminated.

The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 18.3 (2014), Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Pacific Islands | Program Management | Notes from the Field | Research and Development

Harnessing Geospatial Data To Enhance Erw Clearance In Pacific Islands, Jessica Dell

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since World War II, the prevalence of explosive remnants of war has persisted in the Pacific Island nations. Supported by the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA) and partnered with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, iMMAP seeks to improve the region's safety through lōōm, a geospatial information management system.

Erw Contamination In The Pacific Islands, Justin Smith

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The legacy of explosive remnants of war (ERW) has affected the daily lives of Pacific Islanders for more than 70 years. ERW contamination in the Pacific stems from conflict between the Allied forces and Japanese forces during World War II. Survey, clearance and information-management programs are helping to manage the continued risks to the impacted populations.

Clearance Operations In The Pacific Islands, Len Austin

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Golden West Humanitarian Foundation’s mine- and explosive-remnants-of-war clearance operations in the Marshall Islands reduced remaining World War II munitions contamination. Humanitarian efforts helped Mili Island and Taroa Island inhabitants recover land with nonexplosive technology during the four-month initiative.

Capacity Building: Lessons Learned, Vanessa Finson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Norwegian People’s Aid believes that to deliver results in mine action programs, it must empower and support national governments to take ownership of the contamination problem. Successful capacity-building efforts require support and buy-in from national authorities and mutual respect between parties involved.

Demining In Remote Areas Of Northern Afghanistan, Artyom Harutyunyan

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since September 2010, the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) has carried out survey-and-clearance operations in the isolated Darwaz region of northern Afghanistan, where explosive-ordnance caches and unexploded ordnance and mine contamination remain a serious concern.

Humanitarian And Developmental Impact Of Anti-Vehicle Mines, Pascal Rapillard, Maryam Walton

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Anti-vehicle mines negatively impact humanitarian efforts and developmental progress. Key findings from a South Sudan case study show that mine contamination impacts humanitarian efforts directly through casualties, while dangers of agricultural development and hindrance to foreign investment are also primary developmental concerns for the South Sudanese.

Tracense Develops New Explosive Detector, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Scientists at Tracense, a technology company in Tel Aviv, Israel, created a new nanotechnology explosive detector.

Evaluating Landmine-Detection Rats In Operational Conditions, Amanda Mahoney, Timothy Edwards, Kate Lalonde, Christophe Cox, Bart Weetjens, Tekimiti Gilbert, Tess Tewelde, Alan Poling

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Researchers evaluate the accuracy of pouched rats’ ability to detect landmines under operational search conditions. Results indicate the ineffectiveness of one training method for maintaining quality operational performance and suggest further examination.

Evaluating The Mini Minewolf, Phil Straw

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The U.S. Department of Defense Humanitarian Research and Development Program conducted operational field evaluation to assess the capabilities of Mini MineWolf technology.

Using Plants To Detect Landmines, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia (U.S.) are investigating how plants can be used to detect buried explosives, such as landmines, in areas of dense vegetation, where traditional demining methods are difficult.

The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 18.2 (2014), Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Focus: CWD Emergency Response

Feature: Sahel and Maghreb

Special Report: SA/LW Marking and Tracing Initiatives in Latin America

Land Release Liability, Sean Moorhouse

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Who should be responsible for any adverse events after clearance? The process of transferring liability from an operator to the state seems biased due to an inherent conflict of interest.

Building National Eod Capacity In Mali, Jin-Hee Dieu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since January 2013, the United Nations Mine Action Service has worked to build Mali’s national capacity in explosive ordnance disposal.

Advanced Ordnance Teaching Materials, Allen D. Tan

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Advanced Ordnance Teaching Materials (AOTM) program leverages recent advances in the accessibility of 3-D printing to raise the quality of humanitarian explosive ordnance disposal education worldwide.

Using Minehound In Cambodia And Afghanistan, David Daniels, Jurgen Braunstein, Michael Nevard

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The HALO Trust uses the MINEHOUND dual sensor detector in Cambodia and Afghanistan to reduce false-alarm rates. MINEHOUND combines a metal detector with ground-penetrating radar to improve efficiency of mine removal in areas highly contaminated with metallic false alarms.

Balkan Flooding Exacerbates Landmine Crisis, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Balkan Flooding Exacerbates Landmine Crisis.

The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 18.1 (2014), Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Focus on land release issues

Feature: Best Practices of Residual Clearance

Special Report: Declining Donor Funding and Strategies to Attract New Donors

Demining Quality Management: Case Studies From Jordan, Jamal Odibat

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Two case studies of clearance in the Jordan Valley and along Jordan’s northern border highlight the importance of quality management to ensure efficiency of clearance and credibility of land release.

Miniature Aerial Photography Planes In Mine Action, Inna Cruz, Daniel Eriksson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining analyzed the benefits, potential uses and cost efficiency of miniature aerial photography planes for use in mine action.

Reinforcement For Operational Mine Detection Rats, Amanda Mahoney, Christophe Cox, Bart Weetjens, Tess Tewelde, Tekimiti Gilbert, Amy Durgin, Alan Poling

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

When using animals for the detection of landmines, handlers face challenges of when to reinforce indication responses, as the actual location of landmines in the field is unknown.Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling(Anti-Personnel Landmine Detection Product Development or APOPO) evaluated an inexpensive method to reinforce rat-indication responses in field settings using TNT to contaminate ground area. Rat detection accuracy was high over the TNT contamination after an overnight soak period of 16 hours and detection accuracy decreased as a function of days passed since soaking.

Cluster Munition Remnant Survey In Laos, Michael Creighton, Atle Karlsen, Mohammed Qasim

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As the most heavily bombed country per capita in the world, clearance of cluster munition remnants is a long and ongoing process in Laos. Norwegian People’s Aid developed a survey methodology to address the unique challenges posed by cluster munition contamination.

Abandoned Ordnance In Libya: Threats To Civilians And Recommended Responses, Bonnie Docherty, Anna Crowe

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In a report released in August 2012, “Explosive Situation: Qaddafi's Abandoned Weapons and the Threat to Libya's Civilians,” researchers from Harvard Law School's International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) examined Libya's abandoned ordnance problem and its humanitarian consequences for the local population. Based on field and desk research, the report documents the threats these weapons pose, analyzes steps to address them and offers recommendations to minimize civilian harm. IHRC co-published the report with the Center for Civilians in Conflict (formerly CIVIC) and the Center for American Progress. In this article, two of the report's authors summarize its 2012 findings and recommendations.

Land Release In Action, Emanuela Cepolina, Andy Smith

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As part of the EU-funded TIRAMISU project, the author conducted a comprehensive survey of land release procedures in six countries during 2012. The results show that expectations of technical survey machines should be defined and standardized through tests and evaluations.

A Stand-Off Seismo-Acoustic Method For Humanitarian Demining, Marian Bechtel

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Using seismo-acoustics to detect landmines may be an efficient and cost-effective demining method. It may also work in wet soils and allow discrimination between mines and metallic clutter. Bechtel, as a junior in high school, was a finalist in the 2012 Intel Talent Search for her research on seismo-acoustic detection and was invited to present at the second annual U.S. White House Science Fair.

Analyzing Functionality Of Landmines And Clearance Depth As A Tool To Define Clearance Methodology, Martin Jebens

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Mine contamination from World War II remains in Skallingen on Denmark’s western coast. Skallingen’s dynamic coastal environment caused the mines to shift in the soil, and time, salt water and soil depth rendered some of the landmines inactive. Comparative digital-terrain models, in addition to surveys and analysis of fuze and detonator functionality, enabled clearance personnel to establish clearance depth and related criteria and facilitated efficient clearance efforts. As a result, the last functional mines were cleared in June 2012 after six years of effort.

Wwii Cleanup: Munitions Contaminate German Seas, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

During World War II Nazi forces began dumping chemical and conventional weapons in the ocean to avoid devastation by enemy aerial bombings. Following the Nazi Party's unconditional surrender in May 1945, the Allied powers continued with this practice to dispose of German arsenals.