Contamination and Impact

The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is extensively contaminated by mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). Most (71%) of contamination is in the north, the focus of three decades of armed conflict between the government and the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE), which ended in May 2009. However, national estimates of total mine and ERW contamination have fallen sharply: from 506km² at the end of 2010 to 98km² at the end of 2012 and less than 84km² at the end of 2013.[1] Operators report a need to clear some residential areas in the north and significant amounts of agricultural land but increasingly see contamination as an obstacle to development rather than a humanitarian threat.[2]

Confirmed hazardous area (km²)[3]

Much the densest remaining mined areas lie in northern Sri Lanka to the north of Elephant Pass marking the former frontline between the army and the LTTE and covering about 14km².[4] Both sides made extensive use of mines, including belts of blast antipersonnel mines laid by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), and long defensive lines with a mixture of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) laid by the LTTE defending approaches to the northern town of Kilinochchi.[5]

Operators have encountered a wide range of LTTE devices, including antipersonnel mines with antitilt and antilift mechanisms, and often containing a larger explosive charge (up to 140g) than government-laid mines (30g). They also encountered tripwire-activated Claymore-type mines, and, though to a lesser extent, antivehicle mines.[6] However, much of the extensive mining by the LTTE in northern districts has now been cleared and remaining contamination in the eastern provinces (Ampara, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee) is thought to be light.

Mine Action Program

The Ministry of Economic Development is the lead agency for mine action as chair of the interministerial National Steering Committee for Mine Action (NSCMA), which sets policy and is supposed to “manage linkages within the government, mine action community and donors.”[7] Its policies and decisions are implemented by the National Mine Action Centre (NMAC), set up in 2010[8] with responsibility for liaising with government ministries and development partners to determine mine action priorities, prepare a strategic plan, and set annual work plans to put it into effect. It is also responsible for accrediting mine action operators, setting national standards, and acting as the secretariat of the NSCMA.[9]

Clearance operations in the field are coordinated, tasked, and quality managed by Regional Mine Action Offices (RMAOs), working in consultation with District Steering Committees for Mine Action. The committees are chaired by Government Agents heading district authorities.[10]

The National Mine Action Strategy released in September 2010, a year after the end of the war with the LTTE, sets a vision of Sri Lanka “free from the threat of landmines and ERW.” The strategy gives priority to clearance of land for resettlement of people displaced by the conflict and land needed to support livelihoods, offer access to schools, hospitals, and religious centers, or which are within 3km of villages and main roads. It assigned medium priority to land needed for infrastructure development and low priority to hazards in jungle areas with no immediate impact.[11]

In 2012, the NMAC started working on a plan to transfer mine action to the Ministry of Defense by the end of 2013.[12] No further details have emerged, but NMAC also reported in 2013 plans to revise Sri Lanka’s strategic plan, partly to address an expected reduction in donor support. As a result of reduced funding, Indian demining organizations Horizon and Sarvatra stopped working in September 2012.

In mid-2013, UNDP ended a long-running program of support for mine action which had included providing a technical advisor to NMAC until 2012 as well as support for the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database and regional mine action offices in Vavuniya and Jaffna, which have closed.[13]

Land Release

Clearance in 2013

Mine and battle area clearance slowed sharply in 2013 reflecting loss of capacity resulting from a fall-off in donor support. Clearance of mined area totaled some 6.4km².

Mine and battle area clearance in 2013[14]

Note: UXO = unexploded ordinance

Operators cleared almost as many antipersonnel mines in 2013 as the previous year but mined area released through clearance was a drop of almost 60%, according to NMAC data. Clearance by the SLA-HDU, the biggest operator, was two-thirds less than the previous year.[15]

Clearance in 2009–2013 (km²)

Clearance in 2014 looked likely to fall further with the closure in 2013 of one of the bigger demining programs, that of FSD. MAG started 2013 with four demining teams and eight mechanical assets but cut capacity to two teams and five machines after the mid-year conclusion of some donor grants. In 2014, with additional funding from Japan, it raised capacity to five mine action teams and nine machines.[16] HALO remains the biggest international operation with 1,113 staff at the start of 2014, including more than 900 deminers, a level it expected to maintain or possibly increase in the course of the year.[17]

Survey in 2013

Sri Lanka did not report results of survey in 2013, but at the request of NMAC, HALO resurveyed Vavuniya, Mannar, and Mullaitivu districts, canceling 15.5km² of suspected hazard and adding 24 new minefields covering 0.5km². It conducted further survey and resurvey canceling  SHAs in other parts of its operating area. HALO demining teams also worked on minefields in Mugamalai and Nagarkovil that are among the most densely contaminated areas in Sri Lanka. These continued to be a focus of HALO’s clearance operations in 2014.[18] A total of 50 hazardous areas were released in 2013.

Release by survey of mined areas in 2013[19]

NTS = non-technical survey; TS = technical survey; N/R = not reported

Deminer safety

HALO had four demining casualties in 2013, including two deaths. The first fatality occurred in Mugamalai minefield contaminated by mines, UXO, and IEDs, including mines linked to other explosive devices. The deminer appears to have triggered a mine linked to other items. Two other deminers suffered non-fatal injuries in the same minefield, one after detonating a tilted mine and the other who detonated a mine located below the depth he was excavating. The second deminer died of injuries from a mine detonation after he had removed his visor in a breach of safety rules.[20]

Support for Mine Action

In 2013, seven donors contributed a total of US$10.4 million for clearance, victim assistance, and risk education to Sri Lanka, a 17% decrease from 2012.[21]

Sri Lanka has never reported its financial contribution to its mine action program. However, in a speech on the 2012 budget President Mahinda Rajapaksa indicated that it was substantial, stating that since 2009 the army has been engaged in demining, rebuilding, and urban development at a cost of LKR5.4 billion (approximately US$42 million).[22]

India has contributed to mine action in Sri Lanka since 2003. The Indian NGO Sarvatra conducts clearance activities in Sri Lanka with an unspecified amount of support from the government of India.[23]