59-05-032 Proceeding

216 Proceedings of the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Congress 1. Problem to be addressed Historically, many Southeast Asian countries, for example Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand andVietNam, suffered frominternal or ideological conflicts. As a result, variousmunitions such as artillery shells, projectiles, rockets, cluster bombs, and so on have been employed. Many of these explosives touched ground unexploded but have killed and will continue to kill innocent victims who accidentally activate them. Landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) continue to threaten the livelihood of communities living in affected areas. About a thousand people are crippled each year in this region highlighting the crucial need for landmine/ERW removal technology and victim assistance services. Thailand is one of the ASEAN member countries suffering from the devastating effects of landmine/ERW. Landmine Impact Survey in year 2001 reported that there were approximately 2,750 sq. kilometers of land in 27 provinces suspected to have been contaminated with landmine/ ERW. In 2007 to 2009, the Locating Minefield Procedure (LMP) byThailand Mine Action Centre (TMAC) together with the Integrated Area Reduction Survey (IARS), financially supported by JAPAN-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) remarked hazardous areas more precisely and determined that only about 550 sq. kilometers are confirmed as landmine/ERW areas. Despite this fact, landmine accidents continue to occur because minefields are located very close to rural communities mostly along the Thai-Cambodian border. One of the minefields along the border of the two countries is minefield no. 0387-01 in the proximity of Charat Pattan village, Charat sub- district, Buached district in Surinprovince encompassing 2,420,000 sq.m. Landmine contamination obstructs local villagers of both countries from entering forest areas to collect forest products for their daily living. Local economic development is also hampered as contaminated land cannot be developed into farmland or used for border passes or trade. As theASEANcommunity is realized, the development of border areas of ASEANneighbors will be vital for rural communities to grow in line with regional development. Border markets of Thailand adjacent to Cambodia are the key factor of the well-being for not only local people but also for other businesses in both countries. Rural communities that are contaminated by landmines face challenges to economic and social development because one of the most valuable and basic resources for growth–land – is off limits to the community. It is essential that this problem be addressed, so that valuable land is returned to the rural communities and livelihood is returned to villagers. Removal of landmineswill allowsuch amentioneddevelopment. After the implementation of this project, best practices and lessons from the clearance of this minefield will be collected and can be disseminated among ASEAN countries for regional application. 1.1 Background, problem analysis and justification InThailand, after the completion of LMP in 2009, and the clearance of a portion of the contaminated areas, TMAC organized meetings with relevant local authorities, NGOs and local people to prioritize current minefields with the total area of about 550 sq.km. Those meetings resulted in the agreement of all parties regarding clearance priorities of all minefields. Minefields