Portfolio Bosnia Herzegovina

Country in South Eastern Europe, 51,280 sq km. Population 4.5 million. Population composition: Bosniak 48%, Serb 37.1%, Croat 14.3%, other 0.6%.

Cause and scope of the landmine problem

The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1992-1995 formally ended with the signing of the Dayton Agreement in December 1995. The war was mostly waged in inhabited areas, with an almost equal intensity in and around towns and rural regions. In addition to the other consequences for the country, the war left behind a grim legacy of mines and ERW, which can be found in almost all parts of the country. Mines were used extensively along confrontation lines, which moved frequently. Most minefields are found in the former zone of separation between the two entities; this is 1,100 km long and up to four km wide.

In 2007, the suspected area contaminated by mines and ERW was estimated to 1,889 km2, or 3.68 % of the total land surface area of BIH. To date 11,519 locations have been defined as areas suspected to contain mines and other ERW. More than 1 million people in Bosnia and Herzegovina are affected by the mine and ERW threat or 25% of population.

NPA Mine Action history in country

NPA has been running its Mine Action Programme in BIH since 1996. From the beginning the MA Programme worked in the Tuzla area, in support of the NPA Reconstruction Programme. In 1998 the focus shifted to Sarajevo Canton, and most NPA MA assets worked in the Sarajevo Canton from 1998–2003, in support of the SMAP (Sarajevo Mine Action Plan). As the projects within Sarajevo Canton were drawing more and more towards the perimeters of the Canton borders, NPA decided to implement operations also in other regions of the country. After examining the results of the LIS (Landmine Impact Survey) conducted in 2003, the Tuzla, Brcko and Posavina corridor region seemed as the best alternatives for an operational expansion. From that time NPA still works in Sarajevo but most assets focus on the Brcko District and Posavski Canton. In BiH NPA combines individual demining tasks with Integrated Community Mine Action plans (technical survey, clearance, mine risk education  and permanent marking  tasks) following up high- and medium impact areas of the LIS in close co-operation with the BHMAC.

The long term development objective for NPA BIH is to facilitate the safe return of refugees and IDPs and enable the local population to safely resume normal activities, free from the threat of mines and ERW, to enable rehabilitation of the region to proceed.

Since 2005, NPA supported BHMAC through the secondment of General Survey Teams which contributed significantly to the overall process conducting assessments of mine/ERW suspected areas and creating new projects for Technical Survey and Mine Clearance. Since 1996, NPA has surveyed 66 km2, and returned 44,5 km2 to local communities destroying 5240 mines and 35,390 ERW.

Capacity

Personnel: 133 national staff

1 Community Liaison Team, 4 General Survey Teams, 6 Manual Clearance/Technical Survey Teams, 2 Mini MineWolf medium sized flails, 1 Tempest-5 mini-flail, 1 MineCat medium sized flail, 1 armoured Frontloader, 7 operational Mine Detection Dogs, 2 EOD Teams, 6 Medical Teams.

Donors

Core funding from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, additional funding from the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the District Brcko Government.

Links

NPA Mine Action Programme in Bosnia-Herzegovina: http://www.npa-bosnia.org/

Landmine Monitor Report for Bosnia-Herzegovina: http://www.icbl.org/lm/2007/bosnia

Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Centre: http://www.bhmac.org/