Norway gives more aid for unexploded ordnance clearance

A total of US$1.6 million has been committed to organise further surveys and clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Laos` Xekong province.



The funding was part of an MoU signed by Norwegian People`s Aid (NPA) in Vientiane early this week.



Xekong is among the most UXO-contaminated provinces in Laos.





National Regulatory Authority (NRA) for UXO/mine Action Sector in Laos director Malinga Saignavongs, said the UXO challenges in the southern provinces have been aggravated recently after flooding caused by tropical storm Ketsana.



He said that for the Lao government and people, UXO contamination issues pose an ongoing humanitarian and development challenge.



More than 35 years after the end of the Indochina War, it still causes accidents almost every day, prevents farmers from using arable land and expanding cultivation, endangers those engaged in basic farming activities, and hampers infrastructure and development projects.



The start of the project cannot be timelier, Dr Malinga said. With long-buried UXO being unearthed by the recent flooding, the risk has only increased.



The MoU will run to the end of 2011.



NPA Director Charles Frisby confirmed that survey and clearance activities will be conducted in four affected districts of Lamam, Kaleum, Dakcheung and Thataeng.



The operational capacity will consist of two survey teams, two clearance teams and one roving team, he explained.



In support of the field operations, staff will be needed to assist in the running of a base location in Xekong province.



He said one important aspect to this project is the fact that the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) has been instrumental in supporting the NPA start-up.



Frisby said NPA`s vision was to be a leading partner in the sector and to assist the NRA in freeing Laos from the threat of UXO, where individuals and communities could live in a safe environment and contribute to development, and where UXO victims are fully integrated into their societies and their needs are met.



Laos has the unfortunate title of being the most bombed country in the world per capita.



Throughout the second Indochina conflict (1963-1974), more than 2 million tonnes of weaponry was dropped over the country by American war planes, with up to 30 percent failing to explode.



Today, up to 25 per cent of all villages in Laos are affected by unexploded ordnance, which includes big bombs, mortars, cluster munitions and submunitions, as well as landmines.



These weapons continue to kill and maim women and children as well as disenabling communities and disrupting socio-economic development.



Today, ten provinces in Laos are still severely contaminated by these unexploded weapons, which injure and kill an estimated 300 people every year.



The (NRA) is a public institution of the government of Laos .



It is responsible for the coordination of all operators in the country working on the impact of unexploded bombs, artillery shells, grenades, landmines and similar ordnance.



The overarching aim of the NRA is to enable all the people of Laos to live free from the impact of UXO.





By Meuangkham Noradeth

Vientiane Times/Asia News Network