Cambodia Mime Action Centre
Objective: to achieve in Cambodia an environment free from the threat of mine and unexploded ordinance so that reconstruction and development activities can take place in safety
The Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) was established in 1992 to conduct mine clearance and coordinate demining activities throughout Cambodia. Since then CMAC has overseen the demining of over 12,000 hectares of land -equivalent to 15,000 soccer fields. Over 14,000 families have directly benefited from mine removal, with a further 270,000 families benefiting indirectly, through safe road access etc.
CMAC’s operation is organised around four core activities:
- Mine / UXO awareness
- Minefield information and marking survey
- Mine clearance
- Training in mine action
This work is carried out by 6 regional Demining Units with a total of around 2000 personnel operating in 9 provinces.
NPA’s partnership with CMAC started in 1993. The partnership has focussed on building capacity for planning, project management and quality assurance. NPA has secured funding from the Dutch and Japanese governments and from the UNDP to provide technical advisers to assist in the core activities and to create a successful Mine Detection Dog programme.
NPA has assisted CMAC with the following initiatives.
Internal Field Monitoring.
A monitoring programme was created to assess the effectiveness of different mining techniques, to identify training needs and to ensure compliance with standard operating procedures. Teams of TC instructors were trained to conduct the monitoring programme with provincial based demining units.
Creating a Technical Survey Team (TST)
Community Based Mine Risk Reduction (CBMRR) is a network of volunteers in affected villages who collect and collate information about the mine threat in their area. They refer this information on to the relevant organisation. The Technical Survey Teams work with CBMRR and mine clearance teams to identify high risk areas. The TSTs increase the cost effectiveness of the demining operation by drawing on this local community knowledge during the collection of data and the demarcation of minefields.
Mine Detection Dog (MDD) Programme
NPA has assisted in the creation of Cambodia's first MDD project, which now totals 12 teams of 2 dogs per unit. Two NPA Technical Advisors provide training and management support. The MDD programme is proving highly successful in increasing the productivity and effectiveness of CMAC's work.
Demining Unit Internal Monitoring
NPA’s assistance with monitoring and evaluation has strengthened CMAC’s middle management. Monitoring assistance started with one demining unit and extended in 2004 to operations in 3 other provinces.
Leadership and Management Development.
NPA provides technical expertise and training in planning, quality assurance, public relations and operations to the CMAC executive and national management team.
