Radio Australia News
Cambodian authorities say 47 people were killed or injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war last year and nearly 200 wounded.
As Robert Carmichael reports, this is a 10 percent decline overall compared with 2008, in one of the most heavily mined countries on earth.
Cambodia, which suffered decades of civil war, is a predominantly agricultural society.
Around 80 per cent of its people live in rural areas, and that makes them particularly vulnerable to landmines.
But some parts of Cambodia are far more dangerous than others - the former Khmer Rouge zones of the north-west remain heavily mined and consequently generate the majority of victims.
The project officer who compiled the statistics for 2009 said comprehensive de-mining efforts by teams from the Cambodian government and foreign NGOs helped to reduce the number of victims.
He said ongoing programmes to educate people about the dangers of landmines and explosives also play a vital role.
The figures show just how important education is: one-third of all victims in the past two years were children, and almost all of those were boys.
Reaching them remains a key task to ensure further improvements this year.
Cambodian authorities say 47 people were killed or injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war last year and nearly 200 wounded.
As Robert Carmichael reports, this is a 10 percent decline overall compared with 2008, in one of the most heavily mined countries on earth.
Cambodia, which suffered decades of civil war, is a predominantly agricultural society.
Around 80 per cent of its people live in rural areas, and that makes them particularly vulnerable to landmines.
But some parts of Cambodia are far more dangerous than others - the former Khmer Rouge zones of the north-west remain heavily mined and consequently generate the majority of victims.
The project officer who compiled the statistics for 2009 said comprehensive de-mining efforts by teams from the Cambodian government and foreign NGOs helped to reduce the number of victims.
He said ongoing programmes to educate people about the dangers of landmines and explosives also play a vital role.
The figures show just how important education is: one-third of all victims in the past two years were children, and almost all of those were boys.
Reaching them remains a key task to ensure further improvements this year.
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