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MAG Lao PDR Country Director (left) and Mr Phetsavang Sounnalath, Deputy Director of the National Regulary Authority, at the MoU signing ceremony in Vientiane. |
The UK Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with MAG for a £2.5m ($3.9m) project to remove the impact of Explosive Remnants of War from some of the most vulnerable communities in Lao PDR.
Integrating unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance and development actions in four of the country’s poorest and most contaminated provinces – Khammouane, Sekong, Savannakhet and Xieng Khouang – ‘Development-led Humanitarian Mine Action in Laos’ will run over 30 months and is being funded by the Department for International Development (DFID).
The unexploded ordnance problem in Lao PDR: statistics |
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• Lao PDR is the most heavily bombed country, per capita, in history • Approximately 25 per cent of villages are contaminated with UXO • More than 580,000 bombing missions were conducted over Lao PDR • More than two million tons of ordnance were dropped on the country between 1964 and 1973 • More than 20,000 people have been killed or injured as a result of UXO accidents in the post‐war period from 1974 Official figures from the National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine
Action in Lao PDR Click here for more UXO statistics |
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The project promotes poverty reduction and human security, and makes a major contribution to the country’s efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, including MDG 9, a Lao-specific goal to reduce the impact of UXO.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Vientiane, MAG Lao PDR Country Director David Hayter said: “Lao PDR is severely affected by very large amounts of UXO spread across a very wide area.
"This not only poses a risk to the people when they are carrying out normal activities such as farming, but also prevents or delays development activities – and indeed adds to their cost.
“DFID has for many years been a supporter of UXO clearance in the country, not only by funding MAG, but also in previous years funding UXO Lao, the Lao PDR national clearance agency.”
As well as clearing UXO from an expected seven million square metres-plus of land, the project will also strengthen the capacity of the National Regulatory Authority to manage the national humanitarian mine action programme in line with the Lao Government’s National UXO strategy – the Safe Path Forward II – and its obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
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Maximising benefits for communitiesAir and his wife Mai's farm is in Khammouane, central Lao PDR. Like much of the province, this area was heavily bombed between 1964 and 1973. “Every year when I tried to plough the land I would find bombies,” recalls Air. Bombies are the local name for cluster bomb submunitions. “I would collect them in my t-shirt and put them at the edge of the field. It was dangerous and I was scared, but it was safer than hitting them with my trowel. The biggest issue for me was the children – I was worried that they would play with the bombies.” In 2008, MAG cleared the land and found a further 300 bombies. Following this work, MAG’s partner Triangle – a rural development NGO – was able to build an irrigation channel and a pumping system that brings water from a nearby river. This enables families in the area to grow two rice crops per year instead of one. Previously, there was insufficient water to grow rice during the dry season. This is just one example of how MAG works with partner organisations in order to ensure that UXO clearance produces the maximum benefits for communities. “This paddy field supports nine people, including our two children, two orphans we look after and our parents,” says Air. “The land is safe to farm, it is safe for my children and we get two rice crops of rice a year. “This means we get more rice and it is fresher, so it tastes much nicer. We are in a much better situation and we are very grateful.” |
David said: “This is a substantial investment to the Lao PDR, by the British Government through MAG, which recognises not only that bombs need to be cleared from Lao soil, but also that the Lao authorities are central to ensuring the quality and efficiency of the process.”
Asif Ahmad, the British Ambassador to Lao PDR, said: “Long after a conflict has ended, civilians are injured by unexploded munitions. Children in particular are vulnerable as they see the devices as toys.
“Thousands of people live a precarious and dangerous existence with the constant threat of permanent injury or death as a result of unexploded ordnance left by armed conflict.”
“The UK Government is committed to continuing its efforts to ensure that people of Laos can go about their daily lives free from the threat of unexploded ordnance.
“We believe it is vital that land is returned to productive agriculture. We think it is essential that children can walk to school without worrying about dangers of the path they walk on.
“Farming and education offer people the chance to lift themselves from poverty and live life to the full. The cost of doing so cannot be the lives of innocent people.”
David added: “On behalf of MAG I would like to thank the National Regulatory Authority, the Department for International Organisations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and also the local authorities in Xieng Khouang and in Khammouane for their valued support and advice to MAG.
“By working so closely together we can maintain and improve our levels of efficiency and maximise the impact for Lao communities affected by UXO and value for money for the donor.”
29 June 2011
See also:
- Why does MAG work in Lao PDR?
- Latest news and case studies from MAG Lao PDR
- Visit MAG's information centres in Lao PDR
- Convention on Cluster Munitions website
- MIllennium Development Goals website
- National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action in Lao PDR website
- UK Department for International Development website
- UK in Laos: British Embassy website
MAG is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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Buy online:'Laos: Legacy of a secret', by MAG photographer Sean Sutton |
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