The result of the 2010-2014 “National Post-war Unexploded Ordnance Contamination Mapping and Survey” project indicated that 63/63 Vietnamese provinces have UXO contamination as a consequence of the war. According to the Vietnam Government, the total contaminated area is 6,13 million hectares, consists of 18,71% of the nation’s total area.
To remove post-war UXO in Vietnam, the Korean-Vietnam Mine Action Project was conducted thanks to the cooperation between the Korean and the Government of Vietnam.
In 2016, Vietnam Prime Minister approved the project with the Ministry of Defense appointed as the executive agency and the National Mine Action Center (VNMAC) appointed as the project’s coordinator. The main purpose of the project is to raise administration capacity for VNMAC and other agencies in removing post-war UXO in Quang Binh and Binh Dinh.
The result of the survey on knowledge, attitude and behaviors concerning UXO risks was conducted in 2018 with the participation from over 1700 people in Quang Binh and Binh Dinh showed the lack of awareness of the population on UXO risks.
The survey result showed only 0.8% of the population know the indicators of an explosive hazard area; 5,7% have the proper understanding of the consequence of UXO-related accidents; 6,5% have a proper understanding of activities that could lead to UXO-related accidents and only 12,6% have knowledge on specifications of UXO.
Only 1 in 5 of those who participated in the survey has a proper attitude toward UXO-related issues. Even more concerning, only roughly 5% of the population have a proper attitude in case of UXO sighting and about 1/3 of the survey participants have proper attitude upon seeing explosive hazard warning or when observing unauthorized UXO disassembly process.
Recommendations were made for this situation such as UXO risk education toward vulnerable groups such as children, self-employed workers, farmers, and women in Quang Binh and Binh Dinh.
The executive strategy and the action plan on UXO safety provide more information on the project’s operation in Quang Binh and Binh Dinh in 2019-2020.
The detailed target is to end post-war UXO-related incidents (no more accidents) in Quang Binh and Binh Dinh in 2020 and the upcoming years through raising awareness among women, men, and children, especially for those in high risk contaminated areas.
The success story of the promulgation program on UXO-related incidents of the Korean-Vietnam Mine Action Program will be implemented in other provinces which will contribute to reducing UXO-related incidents and victims.
Source: KVMAP
Hemera Media