 |
More than two million tonnes of ordnance was dropped over Laos during the Second Indo-China War. An estimated 30 per cent did not explode on impact. UXO still affects more than 25 per cent of villages and remains a key cause of poverty. |
- Visit MAG's information centres
- Latest news and case studies from MAG Lao PDR
- Download Lao PDR publications
The problem
Lao PDR is the most bombed country in the world per capita. More than two million tons of ordnance was dropped on the country during the Second Indochina War. Up to 30 per cent of some types of ordnance did not detonate.
|
The Lao Government has shown that unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination still affects more than 25 per cent of Lao villages.
Between 1999 and 2008, there were 2,184 casualties (including 834 deaths) from UXO incidents1 and more than 50,000 people have been killed or injured as a result of UXO accidents since 1964.
UXO contamination also remains a key cause of poverty and is one of the prime factors limiting the country's long-term development, preventing people from using land and denying access to basic services.
As in other South East Asia countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam, collecting scrap metal is a major cause of UXO accidents. Forced into the trade by poverty, people risk their lives using primitive detectors to hunt for scrap: normally what they find is harmless, but there’s always the risk it could be a deadly bomb.
See also: The
unexploded ordnance problem in Lao PDR: statistics
Scrap metal collecting: a high-risk trade
Notes:
1 Source: Landmine Monitor 2009
|
Your donation to MAG helps us to move into current and former conflict zones to clear the remnants of conflict, enabling recovery and assisting the development of affected populations. |
||
How MAG is helping
From April 2007 to May 2011, MAG cleared 23,778,512m2 of suspect land in Lao PDR, destroying 145,000 items of UXO. As a result, 330,000 beneficiaries gained more safe land for farming, clean drinking water, latrines, irrigation for rice cropping, safe school compounds and tertiary roads.
MAG undertakes all UXO clearance in line with the development priorities outlined in the Government of Lao's National Growth and Poverty Eradication Scheme.
We often conduct UXO clearance on land in remote and vulnerable communities in partnership with key development agencies such as CARE and World Vision.
During 2011, MAG Lao PDR is planning to work with Catholic Relief Services in Khammouane, to deliver UXO clearance, basic first aid and UXO risk reduction to children and their families.
Amongst the aims of this project is a reduction in the involvement of children in the scrap metal trade, and the promotion of sustainable alternatives to scrap metal collection as a means of earning a living.
See these pages for information on MAG's latest work in Lao PDR:
Beneficiaries
As a result of MAG's wotk from April 2007 to May 2011, 330,000 people in Lao PDR gained more safe land for farming, clean drinking water, latrines, irrigation for rice cropping, safe school compounds and tertiary roads.
Additionally, MAG gives jobs to those who need them most, investing in, training and employing staff from the local population in order to build a robust and sustainable national workforce.
Find out more
- MAG Lao Visitor Information Centres
- AlertNet: Laos country profile
- BBC: Laos country profile
- Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor 2010: Lao PDR
- National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action
- US Air Force bombing date in Google Earth (more info)
MAG is not responsible for the content of external sites.
View larger map |
Our thanks to the donors to MAG's programme in Lao PDR: European Commission; Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State; UKaid (Department of International Development – DFID); World Vision.
June 2011
Back to top
