US to increase UXO sector assistance
US government will increase assistance to Laos for work in surveying, clearance, victim's assistance and risk awareness on UXO.
How much of an increase in funds will be given is still being considered, but it will not decrease, according to the US Embassy in Vientiane on Tuesday.
The US government will increase assistance to Laos, US Ambassador Daniel Clune said, when he met the Head of the Lao National Committee on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (NCRDPE), Mr Bounheuang Douangphachanh, in Vientiane on February 7.
The United States has provided about US$9 million annually for the last two years and about US$71 million since 1993 to the unexploded ordnance (UXO) sector in Laos.
United States funding supports the national clearance operator UXO-Lao, the National Regulatory Authority and a number of other organisations working in surveying, clearance, victim's assistance and risk awareness. Mr Clune expressed US support for the evidence-based surveys so that Laos and its partners will better understand which areas are still contaminated with UXO allowing resources to be used more effectively. Completion of a baseline survey will also enable Laos to prioritise clearance in line with its development goals.
The US and other donors have cooperated with the Lao government in the UXO sector to make Laos a safer place to live and enable rural development. Deaths and injuries recorded from UXO incidents have decreased from about 300 in 2008 to 34 in 2013.
In 2010, only 5,000 hectares of land were cleared because Laos received only US$19 million in financial support. In 2011 and 2012, about 6,000 hectares were cleared as communication with donors improved and they increased support which reached US$30 million in the first six months of 2013.
In 2011, the government stated its intention to clear 20,000 hectares of land per year and still hopes to do so each year until 2020. Only about 6,000 hectares have been cleared, however, about 30 percent of the plan.
In the future, UXO clearance teams must survey and operate in the 64 focus areas for development as identified by the government as well as some 167 locations with priority agricultural land or identified resettlement areas. Laos was bombarded by enemy aircraft during the Indochina war from 1964 to 1973, when over 2 million tonnes of ordnance was dropped, including about 288 million cluster munitions.
Some 75 million unexploded bombs were left after the war finally ended. Since 1996, 1.5 million items of UXO have been destroyed on over 40,000 hectares of land.
US government will increase assistance to Laos for work in surveying, clearance, victim's assistance and risk awareness on UXO.
How much of an increase in funds will be given is still being considered, but it will not decrease, according to the US Embassy in Vientiane on Tuesday.
The US government will increase assistance to Laos, US Ambassador Daniel Clune said, when he met the Head of the Lao National Committee on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (NCRDPE), Mr Bounheuang Douangphachanh, in Vientiane on February 7.
The United States has provided about US$9 million annually for the last two years and about US$71 million since 1993 to the unexploded ordnance (UXO) sector in Laos.
United States funding supports the national clearance operator UXO-Lao, the National Regulatory Authority and a number of other organisations working in surveying, clearance, victim's assistance and risk awareness. Mr Clune expressed US support for the evidence-based surveys so that Laos and its partners will better understand which areas are still contaminated with UXO allowing resources to be used more effectively. Completion of a baseline survey will also enable Laos to prioritise clearance in line with its development goals.
The US and other donors have cooperated with the Lao government in the UXO sector to make Laos a safer place to live and enable rural development. Deaths and injuries recorded from UXO incidents have decreased from about 300 in 2008 to 34 in 2013.
In 2010, only 5,000 hectares of land were cleared because Laos received only US$19 million in financial support. In 2011 and 2012, about 6,000 hectares were cleared as communication with donors improved and they increased support which reached US$30 million in the first six months of 2013.
In 2011, the government stated its intention to clear 20,000 hectares of land per year and still hopes to do so each year until 2020. Only about 6,000 hectares have been cleared, however, about 30 percent of the plan.
In the future, UXO clearance teams must survey and operate in the 64 focus areas for development as identified by the government as well as some 167 locations with priority agricultural land or identified resettlement areas. Laos was bombarded by enemy aircraft during the Indochina war from 1964 to 1973, when over 2 million tonnes of ordnance was dropped, including about 288 million cluster munitions.
Some 75 million unexploded bombs were left after the war finally ended. Since 1996, 1.5 million items of UXO have been destroyed on over 40,000 hectares of land.
By Times Reporters
(Latest Update February 12, 2014)
(Latest Update February 12, 2014)
Sabaidee, ຂ້ອຍເປັນແອດມິນສຳລັບເວັບໄຊທ໌ນີ້,ຫວັງວ່າພວກເຈົ້າມັກເນື້ອຫາບົນເວັບນີ້. ໂຊກດີ
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