Contamination and Impact

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) experienced the heaviest aerial bombardment in history during the Indochina War of the 1960s and 1970s which left it with the world’s worst contamination from cluster munition remnants. The extraordinary intensity of that bombing has tended to obscure the extent of other forms of contamination left by the war on the ground. Lao PDR also has extensive air-dropped and ground-fired UXO as well as antivehicle and antipersonnel mines.

After more than 13 years of UXO/mine action, there is today no credible estimate for the total area contaminated in the country. Lao PDR lacks up-to-date information on the location and impact of explosive remnants of war (ERW), and even the extent of land designated a priority for clearance.[1] The National Regulatory Authority (NRA) says that 10 of Lao PDR’s 17 provinces are “severely contaminated” by ERW, affecting up to one-quarter of all villages.[2] A 2002 evaluation for the Japan International Cooperation Agency estimated that 236.8km² of potential agricultural land was contaminated by UXO.[3]

UNDP reports that as a result of submunition contamination, “economic opportunities in tourism, hydroelectric power, mining, forestry and many other areas of activity considered main engines of growth for the Lao PDR are restricted, complicated and made more expensive.”[4] For example, the Nam Theun 2 hydroelectric dam, one of the country’s biggest economic development projects, spent more than US$16.7 million on UXO clearance between February 2003 and October 2007.[5]

Cluster munition remnants

There is no reliable estimate for the extent of contamination from unexploded submunitions. The United States dropped more than two million tons (two billion kg) of bombs between 1964 and 1973,[6] including more than 270 million submunitions. Up to 30% of the bombs dropped (81 million) are estimated to have failed to explode. In the past decade, unexploded submunitions (known locally as bombies) alone have accounted for close to 30% of all incidents.[7] Clearance teams have found 19 types of submunition.[8]

Bombies accounted for a little over half (52%) of all items cleared in 2009.[9] UXO Lao, Lao PDR’s largest clearance operator, reported in 2009 that during 12 years of operations, munitions fired by ground forces made up most (52%) of total items cleared and submunitions accounted for a little under half (47%).[10]

Other explosive remnants of war

The precise extent of residual contamination from other ERW is not known, although clearance operators have encountered at least 186 types of munitions in Lao PDR.[11] A partial survey by Handicap International (HI), published in 1997, although acknowledged as out of date,[12] remains a primary data source. It found that 15 of the country’s then-18 provinces—all those it surveyed—had districts significantly or severely affected by UXO and that, among the affected villages, 1,156 had large bombs ranging from 100 to 1,000kg.[13] Other major causes of incidents are artillery shells, grenades, mortars, rockets, and air-dropped bombs.[14]

Mines

All sides in the war laid antipersonnel mines, particularly along borders and around military bases and airfields. The HI survey found mines in all 15 provinces it surveyed, contaminating 214 villages,[15] and clearance operators have estimated Lao PDR may have 1,000 minefields.[16] Results from the first phase of a national victim survey show landmines were responsible for 15% of victims between 1998 and 2008.[17]

The remote location of most minefields, however, means that mines are not a priority for clearance. They accounted for only 1% of the total items of ordnance cleared since 1996,[18] and 0.16% of items cleared in 2009.[19] A fatal antivehicle mine incident in 2007 on land cleared of UXO by UXO Lao[20] drew attention to the residual risk mines may pose as economic development progresses.[21]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

The government created the NRA by decree in 2004 but did not appoint a director until December 2005, and it became active in 2006.[22] The NRA has an interministerial board composed of representatives from 11 government ministries.[23] UXO Lao, a civilian government body, had primary responsibility for coordinating and regulating all UXO/mine action, including clearance, until 2004, and remains the largest clearance operator in Lao PDR, working in nine provinces.[24]

The NRA’s role includes setting policy, coordinating and regulating the sector, accrediting operators, setting standards, and conducting quality management. It also has the mandate to serve as the technical focal point for matters relating to international weapons treaties. It reports to the Deputy Prime Minister and a Board of Directors comprising nine government ministries, including defense, foreign affairs, security, and planning and development.[25]

The NRA, as of May 2010, employed 30 national staff and six international advisors under the management of a new Director, Phoukhieu Chantasomboune, who took up his appointment that month together with a new Deputy, Phetsavang Sounnalath, and a new UNDP Senior Technical Advisor, Stan Brabant.[26] The NRA has two sections: Operations, with units handling clearance, mine/ERW risk education (RE), victim assistance, and information management; and Policy, Administration and Standards. With US Department of State funding, ArmorGroup North America provided a technical advisor supporting quality management and operations.[27]

The NRA coordinates sector-wide activity through technical working groups for clearance, RE, and victim assistance, as well as a “Sector Working Group” involving UXO/mine action organizations and donors which facilitates discussion on design and implementation of the program.[28] Operators determine clearance tasks in consultation with provincial and district authorities taking account of requests submitted by local communities, development organizations, and provincial development planners.[29]

In 2009, the NRA and UXO sector stakeholders completed discussion on the long-term sector strategy resulting in the completion of a revised national UXO/mine action strategy for 2010–2020, “Safe Path Forward II,” which identified six goals:[30]

·         to reduce the number of casualties from 300 per year to less than 75 per year;

·         to ensure medical and rehabilitation needs of survivors are met in line with obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions;

·         to release priority land and clear UXO in accordance with national standards and treaty obligations;

·         to ensure effective leadership, coordination and implementation of the national program;

·         to establish sustainable national capacity integrated fully into the regular set-up of the government; and

·         to meet international treaty obligations.

Lao PDR’s draft national strategy calls for “a Lao PDR free from the threat of UXO, where individuals and communities live in a safe environment contributing to development and where UXO victims are fully integrated into their societies and their needs are met.”[31] As of mid-2010, the draft was awaiting endorsement by the NRA board before being submitted to the Prime Minister for approval.[32]

Land Release

Operators released a total of just over 41km² by clearance and survey in 2009, almost one-third less than the almost 58km² released the previous year. The 37km² of land released by clearance alone was similarly down almost one-third (32.6%) from the 55km² which the NRA reported cleared in 2008. This resulted largely from a precipitous decline (87%) in the amount of clearance by commercial companies, reflecting the impact of the financial crisis on international mining companies, some of their biggest clients. In 2008, commercial companies accounted for 40% of the area cleared, but in 2009 it was less than 10%. Clearance by humanitarian organizations in 2009 rose 19% to 33.8km².[33]

Five-year summary of land cancellation and release[34]

Survey in 2009

As of August 2010, relatively little land release has occurred as a result of survey. In 2009, UXO Lao released 3.87km² through technical survey and the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) released 0.08km² by this means for a total of 3.95km², compared with 2.74km² the previous year.[35] UXO Lao noted technical survey is “gaining widespread acceptance” and hoped to increase the number of teams conducting technical survey but also observed that this depended on further training and capacity development.[36]

The NRA drew up plans for a district-level survey to determine the extent of contamination and what land should be prioritized for clearance. The survey was intended to pull together household and village priorities, district plans for development, and national plans for development and investment. It was expected to provide a basis for districts to draw up annual workplans and for the NRA and operators to draw up a 10-year plan in line with its obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[37] NRA expected the set-up and training of survey teams would be completed in time to allow the start of field work before the end of 2010.[38]

The survey’s terms of reference said it would identify confirmed and suspected hazardous areas, the boundaries of contaminated land that is planned for development or use, and the boundaries of land that is already in use but remains contaminated. The NRA worked with three operators on plans for pilot surveys in three districts in 2010–2011: HI in Nong district, Savannakhet province (105 villages); Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in Boualapha district, Khammouane province (81 villages); and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) in Ta-Oy district, Salavan province (56 villages). The NRA intended the survey would eventually be extended to cover 85 UXO-contaminated districts in Lao PDR.[39]

The NRA also commissioned a post-clearance impact assessment, which was being conducted in three heavily contaminated districts: Nong district, Savannakhet province; Pek district, Xieng Khouang province; and Paksong district, Champassak province, covering a range of socio-economic conditions from very poor to more prosperous. Field work was due to be completed by September 2010 and analysis by October.[40]

Battle area and roving clearance in 2009

Although clearance by humanitarian agencies increased significantly in 2009, the amount of land cleared by UXO Lao, the largest operator with more than 1,000 staff and 10 international advisors, was down 3.6% to 25.58km². This represented a little more than two-thirds of the total area cleared in 2009. UXO Lao attributed the drop in clearance output to the impact of typhoon Ketsana, which caused flooding in five southern provinces and the loss of equipment as well as clearance time. UXO Lao teams provided support to the government distributing emergency relief supplies to affected populations and later undertook roving tasks to clear UXO exposed by the floods.[41]

MAG, with nine clearance teams, increased its cleared area by 76% to 7.46km² in 2009 as a result of raising the size of teams from eight to 12 people and increasing the number of detectors in each team from four to 12, allowing it to adopt clearance drills using one operator per clearance lane. Productivity has also been helped by temporarily employing more than 5,300 local villagers in 2009 to cut scrub and vegetation, providing extra income for the local population and accelerating clearance.[42]

FSD had two teams in Savannakhet province working in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) and one in Sekong province supporting development initiatives of WFP and CARE Australia. These conducted a total of 211 area clearance and 41 roving tasks. However, FSD ceased clearance in September 2009 because of financial constraints, although it remained involved in UXO sector support, providing senior explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technician’s Level 4 training and assisting the NRA in developing quality management.[43]

NPA started setting up a clearance program in 2009, beginning operations on 1 September and taking over the clearance teams managed by FSD. By the end of the year it had seven international staff and 100 national staff working in Salavan and Sekong provinces. In 2010, it also worked in Attapeu province and planned to expand further to some 220 personnel.[44]

Among the other NGOs, HI worked in the south with 32 staff conducting area clearance and roving tasks in 16 villages. Post-clearance assessments conducted on 91 tasks confirmed its work had increased land available for cultivation and increased productivity through better use of irrigation.[45] The German organization Solidarity Service International (SODI) started work in Bolikhamxay province in July 2009 and began clearance operations in November, largely as part of training. The project has two 10-person area clearance teams and one five-person roving team with an expatriate technical advisor supporting each team. It also employs villagers to assist with clearing vegetation.[46]

Three international commercial companies, BACTEC, Milsearch BPKP EOD Joint Venture, and Phoenix Clearance, continued clearance in 2009, principally for mining companies and hydropower companies. However, BACTEC pointed out there had been a “dramatic reduction in business with many projects being postponed or not started. In addition to this many companies have opted for ‘cheaper options’ as opposed to reputable and accredited UXO clearance companies.”[47] As of April 2010, BACTEC employed 78 people undertaking a series of mostly small-scale projects.[48] Milsearch supported Phu Bia Mining, maintaining a core staff of 40 but increasing the number to over 200 by the end of 2009.[49]

The Chinese-owned Minerals and Metals Group (MMG), launched in mid-2009 after acquiring the assets of Australia’s Oz Minerals, including its Sepon gold and copper operations in Savannakhet province, set up its own UXO clearance unit to undertake tasks after the 31 July expiry of the contract it had given to BACTEC and it received provisional accreditation by the NRA in 2009.[50]

The NRA gave temporary accreditation in 2009 to two Lao PDR commercial companies: ASA Power Engineering and Phonsaka UXO Clearance (PSD).[51] ASA Power Engineering undertook survey and clearance linked to the construction of an electricity transmission line, but little information was available about the technical capacity and objectives of these companies, or the scope and duration of their involvement in UXO clearance. The Lao army also reported clearance to the NRA for the first time in 2009 but its clearance operations are not subject to NRA quality assurance, although military personnel are also reported to be increasingly engaged in commercial clearance work.[52]

Battle area clearance in 2009[53]

In addition to area clearance, the six NGOs cleared a further 35,379 items of UXO through roving operations in 2009, down by 21% from 44,648 the previous year. The 2009 total included 16,092 bombies, 321 big bombs, and 18,907 other items of UXO.[54] UXO Lao had planned to set up 27 roving teams in 2009 to cover every poor or very poor district in 12 provinces in line with the recommendations of a 2008 UNDP-commissioned evaluation but it did not find funds to proceed.[55] A UNDP management response to the evaluation in 2009 accepted the need for extra roving capacity but said it would not be “at the expense of clearance tasks which are critical to support the implementation of the National Socio-Economic Development Plan.”[56]

Roving operations 2009[57]

Compliance with Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Lao PDR is required to complete clearance of all areas affected by unexploded submunitions under its jurisdiction or control by 1 August 2020.

Lao PDR established the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as its focal point for treaty implementation, with technical and secretarial support from the NRA.[58] Lao PDR underscored its commitment to the treaty by taking on the role of hosting the First Meeting of States Parties in November 2010.[59] To support these initiatives, the NRA set up an International Treaty Support Unit in April 2010, initially focused on preparations for the First Meeting of States Parties but intended later to support adherence.[60]

Community liaison

UXO Lao and NGOs undertook community liaison as an integral part of their clearance programs. MAG’s community liaison teams visited 303 villages conducting 212 pre-clearance village surveys and completing 1,243 Pre-Clearance Beneficiary Surveys.[61] FSD teams undertook community liaison as part of pre-clearance planning and assessment of tasks and in conducting post clearance assessment.[62] HI similarly stressed the importance of community liaison in planning clearance and reported seven meetings with district authorities and 23 meetings with village authorities in 2009 before during and after clearance operations and a similar number of meetings to discuss RE activities.[63] UXO Lao reported conducting community awareness activities in 617 villages in 2009 benefiting 158,148 people.[64]

Quality management

The NRA has a technical advisor provided by ArmorGroup North America and funded by the US government, responsible for developing quality assurance, and is also receiving support from FSD.[65] UXO Lao set up three mobile quality management teams each covering three provinces for the north, center, and south[66] of the country, which became operational in early 2010, receiving support from two technical advisors provided by Switzerland and a third provided by ArmorGroup North America.[67]

The NRA also set up two four-person, Vientiane-based mobile quality assurance (QA) teams, which became operational at the end of July 2010. Their role is to provide external QA initially focused on area clearance by NGOs and commercial clearance companies.[68]

Other Risk Reduction Measures

The NRA’s Technical Working Group on Mine Risk Education coordinates planning and implementation of RE which in 2009 was delivered in nine of the worst-affected provinces[69] by World Education (WE) and three clearance organizations, UXO Lao, MAG, and HI, with support from UNICEF. A fifth organization, SODI, started RE activities in 2010.[70]

WE has focused on school-based RE, developing a strategic plan for sustainable UXO RE in all primary schools with the Ministry of Education and putting RE in the school curriculum and training teachers in the nine most-affected provinces. Beneficiaries in 2009 were 6,190 teachers, 184,113 students, and 1,870 schools.[71] UNICEF supported WE by printing the RE curriculum and teaching materials.[72]

WE has also drawn up a 10-year plan (2010–2020) for handing over RE to the Ministry of Education. The plan aims to:

·         deliver RE that reduces the risk of UXO incidents among school-aged children with high-risk behavior in heavily contaminated areas;

·         develop a sustainable plan for delivering RE;

·         coordinate management of RE; and

·         increase the effectiveness of monitoring, follow-up and evaluation.[73]

UXO Lao and clearance NGOs delivered RE in the course of their community awareness programs. MAG conducted 230 RE meetings in 2009, including 27 with scrap metal dealers.[74] HI had seven staff and 44 volunteers engaged in providing RE in 2009 using educational films and materials to deliver messages. In 2009, with UNICEF funding, HI broadened its risk-reduction initiative to support 60 families in market gardening as a way to generate income and reduce dependence on scrap metal dealing. The project also developed and distributed emergency RE materials to communities affected by typhoon Ketsana.[75]