The international community has become more aware of the link between
development and landmines. A significant amount is known about the location of
suspected mine fields, but much less is known, however, about the socioeconomic
impact of landmines on communities. Without measuring impact, it is difficult
to develop effective strategies to allocate limited resources in a
cost-effective manner to minimize the human and economic costs landmines
inflict. If the impact of landmines is to be significantly reduced or all
landmines in the ground eliminated starting in 2009, as envisioned by the Ottawa
Treaty, rather than in decades or generations as assumed in the early days of
mine action programs, better information, including baseline data to measure
progress, is an immediate and unavoidable requirement. Landmine Impact Surveys
provide this data.
Who Are We?
To meet this need, in a cooperative effort, the NGO community, the United
Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the Geneva International Centre for
Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), established the Survey Working Group in 1998. The
Survey Working Group (SWG) monitors standards and facilitates the international
coordination of resources and expert personnel for the completion of the
Landmine Impact Survey in countries affected by landmines. The members of the
Survey Working Group (SWG) are:
Association for Aid and Relief, Japan
Canadian International Demining Corps, Canada
Cranfield Mine Action, UK
DanChurchAid
Danish Demining Group, Denmark
Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, Switzerland
Geospatial International, Canada
HALO Trust, UK
Handicap International, France/Belgium
InterSOS, Italy
Landmine Survivors Network, USA
Medico International, Germany
Mines Advisory Group, UK
Mine Clearance Planning Agency, Afghanistan
Norwegian People’s Aid
Swedish Rescue Services Agency
UN Development Programme (UNDP)
UN International Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS)
UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, USA
Executed to a common international standard and certified by the United
Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) the Landmine Impact Survey:
Allows donors to rationally allocate funds to places of greatest human need
as defined by impact on communities;
Permits national authorities to develop national plans focusing on regions
and areas of greatest impact; and
Gives implementers baseline impact data that will provide success indicators
for mine action programs.
The LIS is not a sample survey: it is a complete community level inventory of
mine impacted communities and their attending suspected hazard areas. Rigorous
analysis of LIS data indicates that no more than from 3 to 10% of all
communities may have been missed by a particular national survey.
The Survey Action Center, as the executive arm of the SWG, mobilizes
resources and executes surveys in partnership with international and national
organizations. It also provides technical, planning, and operational support
including training and data analysis expertise as well as financial oversight to
most surveys. SAC also serves as the focal point for the Survey Working
Group’s strategic policy function. In October 2001, at the SWG’s
Geneva meeting, SAC established a Board of Directors consisting of Handicap
International, Danish Demining Group, Mine Clearance Planning Agency and
Norwegian People’s Aid.
How we do it?
Landmine Impact Surveys are often initiated by the United Nations when it
recommends that SAC send an Advance Survey Mission (ASM) to a country to collect
basic information for operational needs, preliminary estimation of the extent of
the mine/UXO problem and institutional arrangements needed for a survey. At the
completion of an ASM, a proposal is written. SAC also raises all the necessary
funds for the surveys. The implementing partners are selected through a
competitive process. SAC trains the national survey supervisory staff and they,
in turn, train the interviewers, who are dispatched to the affected parts of the
country to conduct the actual survey. SAC analyzes the data and produces maps
for reporting purposes. Throughout the survey SAC provides technical
backstopping, monitoring and advice. UNMAS provides a Quality Assurance Monitor
to ensure the survey is being conducted according to the protocols set by the
Survey Working Group. After the final report is written, which includes
comments from the host government, it is submitted to the U.N. for certification
and, once certified, the final report is distributed worldwide to donors,
governments and other stakeholders.
LIS data – an emerging picture
There is completed data for ten countries and partial data for northwestern
Somalia (Somaliland). The results confirm the general impression that Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Cambodia, and Ethiopia are in the top rank of seriously
affected countries. Mozambique is in the middle rank, while Azerbaijan, Chad,
Eritrea, Lebanon, Thailand and Yemen have definable and serious problems but are
overall less impacted.
Impacted Communities
Impact Category
High
Medium
Low
Landmine Impact Survey
Completed
Comm.
% Total
Comm.
%Total
Comm.
% Total
Total
Azerbaijan
6/2003
11
2%
101
21%
368
77%
480
Bosnia & Herzegovina
12/2003
154
11%
696
51%
516
38%
1,366
Cambodia
6/2002
564
29%
463
24%
911
47%
1,938
Chad
5/2001
49
20%
52
21%
148
59%
249
Eritrea *
6/2004
33
7%
100
21%
348
72%
481
Ethiopia *
4/2004
152
10%
308
21%
1032
69%
1,492
Lebanon
8/2003
28
9%
164
54%
114
37%
306
Mozambique
8/2001
25
3%
205
21%
759
77%
989
Somalia: Phase 1
5/2003
45
13%
102
29%
210
59%
357
Thailand
6/2001
69
13%
233
44%
228
43%
530
Yemen
7/2000
14
2%
84
14%
494
83%
592
Grand Totals
1,144
13%
2,508
29%
5,128
58%
8,780
*Note: pending UN Certification
These numbers must be treated with caution – every country is unique
and highly impacted communities, whether in Chad or Cambodia, require help to
remove the threat to lives and livelihoods. But the profile that emerges from
the data is instructive. The magnitude of impact level varies considerably
among countries. More interesting than simplistic comparisons of country to
country is an examination of the proportion of high to medium to low impacts
levels. To date LIS has identified 8,780 impacted communities. Of these only
1,114 [13%] are highly impacted, yet these account for 68% of all recent
victims. A further 2,508 [29%] communities are medium impact, while low impact
communities account for 42% of the total, but less that 4% of recent victims. To
the extent that a mine action strategy is driven largely by a desire to reduce
or eliminate victims, these figures are extremely helpful because the LIS has
pinpointed where the victims are and, more importantly from an operational point
of view, identified the exact suspected hazard area where the victim incident
took place. The LIS facilitates the ability to focus limited resources on the
greatest problem, by identifying the relatively few communities that account for
the greatest proportion of recent victims.
Completed Surveys
Landmine impact surveys have been completed in Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Chad,
Mozambique, Somalia (Phase 1: Awdal, Galbeed, Sahil, and Togdheer regions),
Thailand, and Yemen. In 2004 surveys will have been completed in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Lebanon.
Bosnia and Herzegovina (UN certified)
SAC began the survey in November 2002 with funding from the governments of
the United States and Canada and the European Community, through the
International Trust Fund. The Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Center
authorized the survey and Handicap International implemented it. The survey
recorded 1,366 communities impacted by landmine/UXO contamination with 154 (11%)
evaluated as high impact, 696 (51%) as medium impact, and 516 (38%) as low
impact. 129 victims of landmine/UXO incidents were documented in 71 communities
within the prior two year timeframe, 62 of which were recorded as fatalities. A
total of 1,234 suspected hazard areas were identified as blocking access to
valuable socioeconomic resources. The final technical analysis report was
issued in September 2004.
Eritrea (completed, awaiting certification)
The survey began in May 2002 with funding provided by the European Community
and the government of Canada. The survey was executed by UNDP through the
Eritrean Solidarity and Cooperation Association (ESCA) with support from the
Eritrean Demining Authority (EDA), UNMEE MACC, and HALO Trust. SAC provided
training and data analysis support for the technical report. A total of 481
communities were recorded as having landmine/UXO contamination with 33 (7%), 100
(21%), and 348 (72%) in the high, medium, low impact category, respectively.
The number of suspected hazard areas blocking access to valuable socioeconomic
resources was recorded as 914. The survey found 295 victims, of which 77 were
fatalities, in the prior two year timeframe. The final technical analysis
report will be issued in November 2004.
Ethiopia (completed, awaiting certification)
The survey began in January 2002 with funding provided to SAC by the European
Community and the governments of Norway, United States, and Germany and to UNDP
by the governments of Norway and Netherlands. The Norwegian People’s Aid
implemented the survey. Of the 1,492 communities affected by landmine/UXO
contamination, 152 communities (10%) were high impact, 308 communities (21%)
were medium impact and 1,032 communities (69%) were low impact. The number of
suspected hazard areas blocking access to valuable socioeconomic resources was
recorded as 1,916. The survey found 1,295 victims, of which 558 were fatalities
in the last two years. The final technical analysis report will be issued in
November 2004.
Lebanon (UN Certified)
The survey began in March 2002 with funding from the European Community. The
survey was implemented in collaboration with the National Demining Office
through the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), with technical support from the Vietnam
Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF). A total of 306 communities were recorded
as having landmine/UXO contamination with 28 (9%), 164 (54%), and 114 (37%) in
the high, medium, and low impact category, respectively. The final technical
analysis report was issued in July 2004.
On-going Surveys
Afghanistan
The survey began in June 2003 with funding from the European Commission
through UNDP and MACA. The governments of Canada and Germany have provided
funding directly through the Survey Action Center. MCPA is implementing the
survey with oversight and monitoring from a SAC coordination team based in
Kabul. As of 19 September, a total of 1,867 impacted communities have been
identified. The survey finds 265 (14%) high impact communities, 397 (21%) medium
impact, and 1205 (65%) low impact. Data collection should be completed by late
November 2004 and final analysis and reporting by February 2005.
Angola
The survey began in December 2002 with funding from the European Community
and the governments of Germany, Canada, and the United States. The Institute of
National Demining, InterSOS, HALO Trust, Mines Advisory Group, Norwegian
People’s Aid, and Santa Barbara Foundation are conducting the survey under
the auspices and support of CNIDAH, the Angolan mine action authority, with
oversight and monitoring by a SAC coordination team based in Luanda, Angola. As
of 30 July, 320 surveys have been conducted. Completion of data collection is
expected to be in February 2005 with final analysis and reporting completion in
August 2005.
Somalia (Phase 2: Bari, Nugaal and Mudug Regions)
The survey began in August 2004 with funding by the European Community
through UNDP. The Puntland Mine Action Center (PMAC) is implementing the survey
with oversight and monitoring by a SAC coordination team in Garowe. Completion
of the survey is expected in July 2005.
Future Surveys
Republic of Georgia
SAC conducted an Advance Survey Mission and a proposal for conducting a
limited LIS in Georgia is nearing completion.
Sudan
Two Advance Survey Missions have been conducted to Sudan and SAC is in the
final stages of fundraising in preparation for conducting an LIS in Sudan.
LIS Explorer
Later in 2004, SAC will add an application to its website to allow users to
explore the results of completed landmine impact surveys. From an internet
browser, one may view numeric and descriptive data from three vantage points:
(1) communities, (2) suspected hazard area, and/or (3) recent victims. The LIS
Explorer will offer interactive filtering of the displayed data so the users can
focus on their particular interests. The results can be exported to a MS Excel
workbook for further individualized analysis. Summary maps of the completed
surveys will be available for download, with interactive GIS mapping expected to
be added in 2005. With this application, national authorities, operators, and
donors will be able to develop analyses of landmine data to meet their special
needs.