On 9 September 1991, Tajikistan became an independent sovereign nation when the Soviet Union disintegrated. A civil war followed almost immediately after independence, lasting from 1992 to 1997. Since the end of the war, political stability and foreign aid have allowed the country's economy to grow.
Tajikistan officially known as the Republic of Tajikistan, is a mountainous country in Central Asia with an area of 143,100 km2 (55,300 sq mi) and a population around 9 million people. It is bordered by Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east. The traditional homelands of the Tajik people include present-day Tajikistan as well as parts of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
In 2009, Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) was invited by the Government of Tajikistan and the Tajikistan National Mine Action Centre (TNMAC) to conduct land release ( LR ) including non-technical survey ( NTS ), technical survey ( TS ) and clearance in Tajikistan, setting up a Mine Action programme in July 2010 and commencing field operations by November. NPA aims to support Tajikistan in fulfilling its obligation in accordance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Only 7% of land in Tajikistan is usable for agriculture due to its mountainous terrain- the fact that more than 8 million m2 of Tajikistan’s land remain suspected of contamination is therefore detrimental to subsistence and economic development.
NPA has the first and only female demining team in Tajikistan and in the Central Asian Region. They have been successfully conducting land release activities since 2014.
Tajikistan has some of the world’s highest (3,700 m) and least accessible minefields in the world.
The NPA Tajikistan has released a total of 7179956 m2, completed over 100 clearance tasks and found and destroyed 23,105 AP mines, 993 UXO and 183 Cluster Munitions.
