Source: MAG (Mines Advisory Group)
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Reporting period: 1-31 May 2010
Summary:
Preparation of 107,448 sq/m of land by mechanical vegetation clearance and hand-held strimmers.
Reducing Risk in Northwest Cambodia
Whilst extensive Mine Risk Education (MRE) has been delivered in Cambodia for many years, mine risk is still a major factor for the lives of people living in the northwest of the country.
Over the last four years there has been a general downward trend in the number of accidents caused by mines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW), but in May this year there was a significant increase in accidents, with 50 new casualties from 19 accidents in eight provinces.
This represents an increase of 317 per cent compared with the 12 casualties reported in May 2009.
Many of the accidents today are caused by farmers extending farming land in suspect areas. The greater mechanisation of farming in the northwest is also resulting in an increasing number of accidents caused by anti-tank mines.
In addition, accidents are still being caused by people tampering with ordnance.
The MAG Community Liaison teams are addressing the ongoing problem in communities by providing targeted Risk Reduction Education (RRE).
On 20 May, MAG's Community Liaison (CL) team delivered RRE within the village of Bour Run village, Bavel district of Battambang. Before arrival in the village, the CL team consulted all available secondary data regarding the mine/ERW impact in the village and any reported high-risk activities.
On arrival in the village the team met with the village chief and the Community Based Mine Risk Reduction (CBMRR) volunteer in order to identify specific households whose livelihood activities are thought to be at-risk from the impact of mines and ERW, and to gather information regarding specific groups of people undertaking high-risk activities.
Once the data collection was completed, the CL team developed targeted MRE sessions appropriate to the high-risk activities and individuals identified. Sessions were then conducted with each of the groups at a time and place that was suitable for them.
In Bour Run village, high-risk people included those that intended to extend land for agriculture, people who are likely to access unsafe areas to collect natural resources and forest products, economic migrants that may travel through suspected areas, and those likely to deliberately tamper with explosives out of curiosity or familiarity.
As it is understood that communities sometimes have little choice but to put themselves in direct danger from explosive items, when promoting and providing Mine RRE to target groups the CL team conduct participatory discussions to try to encourage suggestions for livelihood alternatives, behaviour change and safe practices when undertaking high-risk activities.
MAG thanks the following donors to the Cambodia programme: Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Finn Church Aid; Lutheran World Federation; NVESD; UK Department for International Development (DFID / UKAid); Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State.
For more information on this or other MAG programmes across the world, please visit www.maginternational.org.
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