Team:Edinburgh/mapxmllaos



Laos <![CDATA[Laos PDR is affected by landmines but the problem is overshadowed by the world’s worst (cluster) submunition contamination, which dates back to the Indochina War of the 1960s and 1970s when it experienced the heaviest aerial bombardment in history. The United States dropped more than two million tons (2 billion kg) of bombs between 1964 and 1973, including more than 270 million submunitions.

There is no credible estimate for the total area contaminated in the country, which continues to lack up-to-date information on the location and impact of explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination. It found that 15 of the country’s 17 provinces—all those it surveyed—had districts significantly or severely affected by unexploded ordnance (UXO) and that a quarter of the villages in Lao PDR had a continued UXO presence, including 1,156 villages with large bombs ranging from 100 to 1,000kg.

Lao PDR’s National Socio-Economic Development Plan 2006–2010 (NESDP) identifies UXO as “one of the major security challenges facing the poor communities in terms of access to land and markets. It is also a major risk, especially for children.” In 2007, Lao PDR had 100 reported casualties from UXO, including 31 people killed, but almost certainly had other unreported casualties.

The NESDP also observes that “there appears to be a significant correlation between the presence of UXO and the prevalence of poverty” and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has observed that “UXO/Mine Action is the absolute pre-condition for the socio-economic development of Lao PDR.” The HI survey noted that UXO contamination “limited agricultural and forest-based activities and increases the cost of rural infrastructure projects.” The Nam Theun 2 hydroelectric dam, one of Lao PDR’s biggest economic development projects, spent more than US$16.7 million on UXO clearance between February 2003 and October 2007.

UXO has also posed a significant threat because of its value as scrap metal. UNDP reported a sharp rise in UXO-related casualties in 2004 and commented that “the growing scrap trade, facilitated by the ubiquitous presence of cheap and effective Vietnamese metal detectors, often rented out by scrap merchants, is a significant driver of this change.” In Savannakhet, Houaphan and Xieng Khouang, three of the worst affected provinces, a high percentage of UXO-related casualties are believed to be linked to scrap metal collection.

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, and clearance operators have estimated Lao PDR may have 1,000 minefields. The remote location of most minefields meant that mines had little impact, accounting for only 1% of the total items of ordnance cleared since 1996, and 0.2% of items cleared in 2007. A fatal antivehicle mine incident in 2007 (involving a UXO Lao-contracted tractor), and the clearance of a minefield as part of an infrastructure project, indicated mines may require greater attention as economic development progresses.

In 2007, there were at least 100 new mine/ERW casualties in Lao PDR, including 31 people killed and 69 injured. All recorded casualties were civilian and almost all were male (42 men and 46 boys); seven were girls and five were women. One casualty was caused by an antivehicle mine, 38 were caused by submunitions and 57 by other ERW. For the remaining casualties the device was unknown.

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