The Hidden Danger Still Threatening Global Recovery
It is necessary to carry out demining since unexploded landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) keep on causing death and injury to civilians, block off valuable agricultural land, and hinder socioeconomic development for years after wars and conflict have ended. In over 60 countries explosives are still hidden and active on the ground, stopping displaced families from going back to their homes, stopping food production and presenting a constant danger to local communities.
Without targeted, systematic clearance, these lethal hazards persist indefinitely, silently outliving the wars in which they were deployed.
Where Are Landmines Still a Problem Today?
While international treaties such as the 1997 Ottawa Convention have significantly curbed the production and deployment of anti-personnel mines, legacy contamination and active conflicts mean millions of people still live alongside minefields.
Three distinct issues illustrate the breadth of the crisis:
- Areas currently experiencing active conflict: Ukraine
Humanitarian observers and the BBC have found that Ukraine has very quickly become one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, placing it among the top three countries in terms of casualties caused by mines, together with Afghanistan and Syria.
Large areas of the agricultural land in the east and south, along with residential areas and important infrastructure, are polluted by anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines, tripwires, and unexploded cluster munitions. Children are especially at risk since brightly coloured or partially buried munitions in schoolgrounds, parks, and rural paths frequently turn ordinary curiosity into a tragedy.
- Insurgencies lasting for a long time: the North East of Nigeria
In northern Nigeria's east, non-state armed groups have on a regular basis used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and anti-vehicle mines on roads, farm tracks and rural settlements. This has meant that internally displaced people (IDPs) are unable to safely go back to their traditional villages, has severed the trade routes, and puts humanitarian convoys at risk when they are trying to deliver emergency food supplies.
- Decades of Post-Conflict Legacy: Zimbabwe
Contamination is not solely a problem of current warfare. Along Zimbabwe’s borders with Mozambique and Zambia, prominent signs reading “Beware of the Landmines” remain a familiar sight half a century after the 1970s Liberation War. Densely packed cordons of anti-personnel mines have isolated rural communities for generations, regularly killing livestock, preventing commercial farming, and injuring residents walking between villages.
What Happens When Contaminated Land Remains Uncleared?
The effects of explosive ordnance go well beyond that of direct blast injury. If land stays contaminated, it causes structural damage in three areas of society.
- Blast injuries often lead to traumatic amputations of the limbs, severe burns, and a state of permanent disability. In developing or conflict-affected areas, healthcare systems do not have the specialised surgical and prosthetic facilities required for long-term rehabilitation.
- Mines are deliberately placed over farmland, pastures, and water supplies in order to take away territory. In rural economies this results in serious food shortages, leads to a greater dependence on foreign aid, and forces farmers to put their lives at risk in order to feed their families.
- It is not possible to safely start work on rebuilding electrical grids, water supply lines, bridges, and housing until the area has been cleared and certified. Aid organisations frequently encounter severe restrictions on their routes, which leaves vulnerable groups without access to medical care or clean water.
How Does Modern Demining Work?
Effective land release depends on a coordinated approach established by the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS); instead of depending on just one method, operators use a combination of techniques:
1: Non-Technical and Technical Survey: Historical records, drone mapping, and ground sampling define the exact perimeters of contaminated areas, preventing the waste of resources on non-threatened ground.
2: Mechanical Demining: Heavy-duty, armoured, remote-controlled machines—such as rotary flails and tillers engineered by specialists like Armtrac—clear dense vegetation, excavate soil, and detonate or neutralise buried anti-tank and anti-personnel mines without placing human operators directly in the blast zone.
3: Manual Detection and Canines: Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) operators, using metal detectors, ground-penetrating radar, and Mine Detection Dogs (MDDs), conduct fine-grid searches in complex or rocky terrain where machines cannot operate.
4: Community Mine Risk Education (EORE): Educating local schools, farmers, and returnees on how to recognise, avoid, and report suspected ordnance.
Why is mechanical demining now the global standard?
Manual prodders and hand-held metal detectors are still necessary for use in tight spaces, but relying solely on manual clearance is both extremely slow and dangerous. A two-person manual team usually manages to clear between 20 and 50 square metres each day, the amount varying according to the soil and root density.
In contrast, modern armoured solutions can cover thousands of square meters in the same amount of time. They crush tripwires, break up hard subsoil, and safely make buried explosive devices harmless from behind armoured chassis using remote-control links.
By front-loading clearance efforts with heavy mechanical systems, governments and NGOs can dramatically compress clearance timelines from decades down to years, returning fertile ground and safe trade routes to the people who need them most.
Take a look at our range of demining solutions and do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your needs. We can help you make the right choice to meet your needs.
