LANDMINES AND LAND DEGRADATION: A Regional Political Ecology Perspective On The Impacts Of Landmines On

Environment And Development In The Developing World

By

Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

A Masters Paper

Submitted to Michigan State University

In Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements for the Degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE

Department of Resource Development

2000

ABSTRACT

LANDMINES AND LAND DEGRADATION: A Regional Political Ecology Perspective On The Impacts Of Landmines On

Environment And Development In The Developing World

By

Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

Landmines are one of the most serious aftermaths of wars facing the world today.

Although the landmine calamity is typically described as a purely medical or social

problem, this study examines the environmental concerns of the crisis in the developing

world to demonstrate how it transcends both humanitarian and sociological concerns to

bring about ecocide. Disruption of land’s stability, pollution, and loss of biodiversity add

to limited and already overtaxed natural resource base of countries in the developing

world to lower the productivity of land and result in land degradation. This study is

designed to illustrate the interrelationships between the different environmental and

socio-economic problems in order to understand the problem better and search for

practical policy responses.

A pioneering application of the conceptual framework for studying human-

environment relationships – regional political ecology – is employed in this study. This

study endeavors to demonstrate how regional political ecology, a conceptual framework

that qualitatively integrates both societal and ecological concerns, can better describe the

extensive effects of landmines, in order to contribute to the resolution of the landmine

crisis through a more inclusive assemblage for environmental, social, economic and

political variables than has been explored previously.

Through an electronic mail survey and interview with professionals working in

areas related to landmines, peace research, environmental management and law, and

extensive archival research, findings from this study demonstrate the ability of the

regional political ecology framework to capture many variables and interrelationships

related to the landmine-environment nexus. Findings from this research demonstrate the

ability of the regional political ecology approach to anticipate various heretofore

unaddressed factors in the problem area. This research illustrates the complexity of the

issues and interrelationships between the issues surrounding the degradation and

management of landmine-affected environments. Findings of this study also indicate

some of the impediments to resource management policy initiatives that are meant to

assuage the pressing environmental, socio-economic and political crises.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research process has been a great learning experience for me. I am greatly

indebted to my advisor in the Department of Resource Development, Professor Eckhart

Dersch, for his erudite guidance, boundless patience and assistance in my Master’s

research and throughout my graduate studies at Michigan State. I would also like to thank

my thesis committee at Michigan State University – Professors Michael Thomas and

Larry Leefers – for graciously agreeing to serve on my committee and giving me their

invaluable advice.

I would like to thank all the practitioners that participated in the study, their

knowledgeable and thoughtful contributions to my research has resulted in successful

completion of the study. I would particularly like to express my gratitude to Dr. Arthur

Westing, at Westing Associates in Environment, Security and Education, Ms. Ananda

Millard at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo and Ms. Karen Troll at the

United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research for their invaluable insights and for

providing me with many helpful materials. I want to express my dearest thanks to my

friends Trish Redeker Hepner and Maite Salazar for their help during the research

process.

I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to my family, especially my father

Asefaw Berhe and my mother Ghidei Woldeslassie, for their belief in me, persistence

encouragements, and continuous help with locating and collecting scores of materials.

Thank you for always being there to cater to my dreams; I could never find able words to

describe my love and appreciation, I am just blessed for having you both.

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Table of Contents

List of Tables viii List of Figures ix CHAPTER 1 ARMED CONFLICTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

1.1 Introduction ……………………………………………………….…. 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem and Need for Research…………….... 3

1.2.1 Objectives of the Investigation…………………………. 4 1.2.2 Research Questions………………………………….…... 6

1.3 Impacts of War on the Environment……………………………… 7 1.4 Landmines ………………………………………………………….... 10

1.4.1 Background to the Global Landmine Crisis………….. 10 1.4.2 The Landmine Crisis of the Developing World – Issues of Paramount Concern…………………...………

20

1.5 A Conceptual Framework for Problem Identification and Analysis………………………………………………………

27

1.5.1 Introduction to Land Degradation……………………... 27 1.5.2 Theoretical Context ………………...………………….… 29

1.6 Plan for the Thesis ………………………………………………….. 32 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Paradigms in Land Degradation Research…………………….… 34 2.1.1 Regional Political Ecology………………………………. 34 2.1.2 Land Management, Managers………………………..... 39

2.2 Land degradation: Concepts, Principles and Causes…………… 40 2.3. Landmines and the Environment – Causal Links………...…… 44

2.3.1 Environmental Impacts of Landmines……………….. 44 2.3.2 Land Degradation through Warfare, Landmines……... 48 2.3.3 Causal Links……………………………………….…….. 49

2.4 Sustainable Development……………………………………….…. 52 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Qualitative Research……………………………………………. 57 3.1.1. Qualitative Paradigm for the Research………………. 57 3.1.2. The Research Approach……………………………... 58

3.2 Research Design………………………………………………... 61 3.2.1. Data Collection………………………………………. 62 3.2.2 Analysis Procedures…………………………………. 64

vi

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 General Statement of the Results ………………………………. 67 4.2 Categorization of Landmine Effects …………………………… 69

4.2.1 Environmental Dimension: Effects of Landmines on Land Degradation………………………………... 69

4.2.2 Socio-Economic Dimension: Effects of Land Degradation on Society……………………………..

87

4.3 Interrelationships in the Landmines-Environment Nexus… 90 4.4 Implications for Sustainable Regional Development: Development

With Landmines and in the Aftermath………..

96 4.5 Political Dimension: Implications on Management and Conservation Policies…………………………………………...

99

CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Summary: Regional Political Ecology and Landmines…….. 110 5.2 Challenges Ahead………………………………………………... 114 5.3 Limitations of this Study……………………………………….. 115 5.4 Recommendations for Future Study…………………………. 116 5.5 Concluding Thoughts……………………………..………………... 118

Appendixes

1. The Most Common Types of Anti-Personnel Landmines….. 120 2. Description of Blast and Fragmentation Mines………….…. 122 3. Countries Worst Affected by Landmines…………………….. 124 4. Questionnaire Cover Letter…………………………………….…... 126 5. Questionnaire………………………………………………….... 128 6. Unprocessed Responses from the Questionnaire…………… 134

Bibliography……………………………………………………………….. 145

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Table

1.1 Number of landmines per square kilometer in some of the affected countries of the world…………………………………………………..

15

1.2 Number of landmines per person in some of the affected countries of the world……………………………………………………………….

16

1.3 Human development ranking of mine affected countries………… 21 1.4 Countries with reported severe landmine problems………………. 22 4.1 Average heavy metal concentrations after landmine detonation… 76 4.2 Average heavy metal concentrations at the center of explosion after

landmine detonation…………………………………………….

76 4.3 Species of living things facing risk of endangerment ……………. 78 4.4 Levels and elements in decision-making………………………….. 106 6.1 Description of blast and fragmentation mines…………………….. 119 6.2 Unprocessed responses from the questionnaires …………………. 131

viii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure

1.1 Countries most threatened by landmines………………………………….. 13 1.2 Source and destination of landmines…………………………………..….. 25 4.1 Increasing land degradation over time……………...……………… 82 4.2 Triangular relationship between landmines, environmental degradation

and underdevelopment…………………………………

90 4.3 Explanation of the phenomena and policy responses for land degradation

and rehabilitation for developing countries…………

101 6.1 Most common types of antipersonnel landmines ………………… 117 6.2 Countries most affected by landmines ………………………….…. 121

1

CHAPTER 1

ARMED CONFLICTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

1.1 Introduction

This research contributes to the understanding of the environmental1

repercussions due to landmines. It explores the environmental and socio-economic

impacts2 of landmines within the framework of land degradation. Furthermore, this

inquiry provides a renewed opportunity to examine the different ways landmines can

affect the natural environment, a society’s relationship with the environment and regional

development. Regional political ecology is a recently emerging area of critical thinking

and analysis that combines the concepts of political economy and ecology in the process

of trying to understand the relationships between society and the natural environment

(Keil et al., 1998).

The menace of landmines left behind after an armed conflict is an enormous

threat for both people and the environment. Landmines affect natural resources – soil,

flora and fauna – causing profound damages to the ecosystem by destruction of soil

stability, contamination, injury, carnage, and interfering with the productivity of these

resources. Land based, arable and pastoral activities provide livelihood for a major

portion of the population in developing countries, a third of which are suffering from

serious landmine problems. These aftereffects of landmines are partly responsible for

causing additional environmental degradation and socio-economic impoverishment for

1 For the purpose of this thesis the word ‘environment’ is used to connote all living things and their surrounding. Environment is a comprehensive term that describes natural resources and ecological relationships between people and their resources. It represents “all external conditions that affect an organism or other specified system during its lifetime” (Miller, 1990, pp. A41). 2 ‘Impact’ is used to represent the change of the environment (or other receptor) due to different activities or processes. Impact, in environmental studies, considers man as the generator and nature/environment as the receptor of that impact (Thomas, 1999).

2

rural populations in the developing world who barely can satisfy their basic individual

and social needs.

For the most part, problems related to landmines have been studied under medical

and socio-economic frameworks. Accordingly, solving problems related to landmines is

generally considered a humanitarian issue (including demining, and resettlement of

refugees and internally displaced people) by local/national funds and humanitarian

agencies. But the environmental consequences are not typically treated as a significant

part of the resulting human conditions. In this study, a conceptual framework is used for

the analysis of the human-environment problems. It helps to elucidate the dynamic and

complex nature of impacts of war on the environment. When employed for studying the

impacts of landmines, application of the conceptual framework of regional political

ecology for studying land degradation generates a matrix of key environmental, social,

political and economic variables that play important roles in affected regions. The

outcome of the matrix along with how these variables are related to each other

contributes to a more informed understanding of the problem. This study illustrates the

promising nature of holistic, multi-level, multi-dimensional, and participatory strategies

for alleviating the landmine crisis.

In the following sections of this chapter a statement of the problem, specific

objectives and research questions posed in the study are described. Succeeding this

segment of the research, the general impacts of war on the environment are discussed,

followed by a more in depth investigation of the global landmine crisis and issues of

great concern in landmine-affected developing countries. Then, an introduction to land

3

degradation will be followed by an elaboration on the conceptual framework used in this

study. Chapter 1 closes with an overview of the remaining chapters of this research.

1.2 Statement of the Problem and Need for Research

The former Secretary General of the United Nations, Boutros Boutros-Ghali

(1994), declared that the scourge of landmines tops the list of global problems at the turn

of the century, while Bruce Gray (1997) has indicated that landmines are one of the most

toxic pollutants facing the world today. This crisis is an issue in both the developing and

the developed world. However, the countries most affected by landmines are those in the

developing world, with Cambodia, Angola and Afghanistan leading a growing list of

countries that have very serious landmine problems (Roberts and Williams, 1995).

Rural agrarian and pastoral populations that depend on land-based activities for

survival and development predominantly inhabit many of the landmine-affected

developing countries (The Arms Project of Human Rights Watch and Physicians for

Human Rights, 1993). In most war devastated developing countries, an unhealthy mix of

war, drought, poverty and their consequences have created a crisis in which the quality

and availability of land is at a critical stage, where the goals of sustainable development

can be severely compromised as a result.

In the case of landmine-affected regions, the land resource base, specifically, and

the ecological system, in general, are negatively affected by adverse conditions of

explosion, pollution and abandonment. Since ecological and social systems are part of a

whole bionetwork and are dependent, interrelated at many different stages, the danger

created by landmines often makes subsistence and sustainable development difficult, if

4

not impossible, for people whose lives are tied to the land. The effect of landmines in the

South3 has become so serious that for many of the rural poor in the developing world, co-

existing with mines is becoming the norm rather than the dreaded, horrible way of life of

few; it is a way of life that they can’t change with their limited capacity and resources.

1.2.1 Objectives of the Investigation

In this study, the application of the land degradation framework, under the

concepts and perspectives of regional political ecology, to guide the study of

environmental impacts of landmines, is explored for better understanding and explanation

of the landmine crisis in the developing world. This study argues that the inclusive and

interdisciplinary nature of this conceptual framework is able to improve past approaches

that considered limited sets of variables by identifying the more sets of variables that

need to be considered.

Environmental problems of landmines have been the subject of a growing number

of studies. Many researchers (Westing, 1985; Gray, 1997; Misak et al., 1999; and

Nachón, 2000) and organizations (International Peace Research Institute - Oslo, Swedish

Peace Research Institute United Nations Environmental Programme, and International

Campaign to Ban Landmines) have been conducting research regarding environmental

impacts of landmines. However, important information needs to be included and newer

modes of analysis considered to improve our understanding of this grave and crippling

crisis. The understanding of the effects of landmines on land resource use and

degradation is critical to planning for sustainable development in landmine-affected

regions of the developing world because human/social and natural systems are part of a

3 The term ‘South’ is used to refer to the countries in the developing world.

5

larger ecological system and can not be divorced from one another. This study recognizes

the need for incorporation of sustainable development principles into political decision

making systems and provides essential data at an appropriate level of analysis and a study

that can be utilized to better inform sustainable development policies.

Consequently, in order to be able to accomplish the above-mentioned objective,

this study builds on the work of the above mentioned and others and employs regional

political ecology to gain an improved insight into the nature and consequences of the

crisis. This renewed understanding contributes to the process of finding better/alternative

directions that can be pursued in the search for more effective solutions to securing a

sustainable natural environment upon which landmine-affected and war-torn societies can

plan future development.

As the aim of this research is to use a better framework to help identify the

relationships and linkages between human and natural ecosystems, development and

degradation in war-devastated developing countries to help frame the effects of

landmines in the South. Land degradation, including natural resource exploitation and

endangerment, were chosen to be the basis of this study because of its interdisciplinary

and comprehensive nature. This Masters research examines the short and long-term

impacts of land degradation to the environment and society. It identifies the impacts, their

implications for land use, and regional development. By examining the different impacts,

their implications, and recommended policy directions in the context of sustainable

development, this research seeks to contribute to the effort for protecting resources and

6

improving them from degraded conditions for all the stakeholders in an environmentally

sustainable4 manner.

This study is the first known in its perspective and is aimed at seeking a newer/better

model by which to approach micro- and macro-level situations. In order to arrive at

findings and conclusions that can be relevant to the land resource in general – and not a

parcel of land in a specific part of the world – the study will not be confined to a specific

locality but rather will include interviews with professionals who have experience in

different areas as well as extensive archival research.

Apart from gaining better understanding and analysis of the short and long-term

contributions of landmines in rural land degradation, this study will also contribute to the

academic knowledge base in the areas of natural resource degradation, planning and

development.

1.2.2 Research Questions

The suggested conceptual framework for conducting a more comprehensive

investigation into the environmental devastation of landmines brings to mind four

questions that are guiding this research. First, what are the different forms of land

degradation that can be caused due to the presence of landmines in a region? This

question addresses the identification of affected environments and the extent of impact

suffered. Second, what are the principal after-effects, processes and relationships related

to landmines that constitute land degradation? Identification of the constituent elements

4 Sustainability is a concept that seeks to limit impacts and consumption of natural resources – while present generations are trying to meet their needs – in order to respect natural limits and avoid compromising the ability of future generations to enjoy the level of resource availability that the present generations get (Dubey, 1998; and Beatley and Manning, 1997).

7

of the principal variables and interrelationships clarify the significance of the problem

and help in bringing to the surface the complexity of the problem.

The third research question builds from the previous two to examine the

implications of land degradation that is caused by the presence of landmines on regional

development and the impacts on the future of a region.

Finally, the fourth research question addresses the quest for effective solutions,

mechanisms and/or processes, to alleviate the environmental problems associated with

landmines by avoiding, reducing or mitigating the adverse effects. Employing the

regional political ecology perspective by considering important elements of the effects,

interrelationships and developmental challenges helps to organize and cohere the

different elements in the analysis of this complex multi-level and multi-dimensional

human-environment problem. Alternative strategies that show potential to address the

aftermath and achieve environmentally sustainable solutions for the crisis are addressed

from the perspective and experiences of individuals and organizations that are working

on the matter.

1.3 Impacts of War on the Environment

War is among the many threats the world is being faced with, in terms of

degradation of the environment and its overarching disasters. Since the start of time, and

especially at this point in history, the world has seen countless wars. Wars have been

waged in practically every corner of the globe at one time or another. Today, in many

parts of the world, hearing news about wars is a daily phenomenon. For many people the

8

issue ends in the evening news, but for others it is something that threatens their very

existence and their resources; day in and day out they live with the resulting disasters.

Wars create a brutal and widespread form of destruction of both the social and

physical environments of a region. War, by its nature, is destructive and unsustainable; it

plays a key role in creating and perpetuating underdevelopment.

“War necessitates the payment of a huge opportunity cost in socio-economic and [e]nvironmental terms, and the redirection of scarce human and material resources that would otherwise have been used for both the productive and constructive purposes. Wars leave countries underdeveloped, poor and physically devastated” (W.Ghiorgis, 1993, pp. 83).

In modern history, wars have taken shapes that are even more devastating than

they have been. People have used their genius to make the most destructive weapons that

have potential to degrade the environment gravely and wipe out its inhabitants.

Warfare is one of the means by which access to resources that are essential for

human survival is acquired (Westing, 1985). Many wars are fought to gain access to land,

water bodies or other environmental resources. During this quest for resources, wars

impose huge human-life, social and environmental costs. As we have learned from the

countless wars that the world has seen so far, the consequences of wars don’t end with

the immediately obvious consequences of deaths of massive numbers of people, unsafe

living conditions, disablement, exile, internal displacement, and ruining of societies and

their values; they also create poverty and underdevelopment. By damaging physical

infrastructures, wars result in the collapse of economic systems, and create (or eternalize)

aid dependency. In many developing countries the most devastating disasters have

become everyday realities; armed conflicts over access to scarce resources (Westing,

9

1985) and other social issues, coupled with poverty, have conveyed the simultaneous

degradation of societies and natural resources.

War destroys the natural resource base by inflicting damage on agriculture, and

by exacerbating deforestation, desertification, loss of biodiversity, and land degradation.

Disruption of the environment has emerged as an even prominent concern of warfare in

the last century; wars have caused widespread, long-term and severe damage to the

natural environment (Westing, 1988). By creating environmental degradation, conflicts

endanger regional and national development, because in rural, agrarian societies

environmental problems are virtually indistinguishable from developmental concerns.

Moreover, when every bullet is being fired, when every bomb is launched and every

resource is destroyed, wars leave long-lasting scars in the natural environment that affect

not only the present but also future generations.

Environmental degradation5 is a critical element in the broader matrix of factors

that influence social and political responses of decision makers to the effects of war in the

developing world. Lanz (1996) asserts that environmental degradation, which results

from armed conflicts, initiates social degradation and results in protracted degenerative

cycles of social and environmental decline by creating poverty, overexploitation of

marginal resources, underdevelopment, and in extreme cases famine and complete

destruction of societies. The author further explores the relationship by stating that these

degenerative cycles create conditions of heightened sensitivity of resources that increase

the risk of perpetuating the degenerative trends. The social and environmental crises

climb to stages of chaos and create a climate that is more conducive to further conflicts.

5 Environmental degradation is the disturbance, destruction or depletion of natural resources; in the case of renewable resources like soil, forests, pasturelands, or wildlife (Miller, 1990)

10

There are different aspects of warfares that are of great concern as far as the

environment and sustainable development are concerned. Effects of warfare have ranged

from massively burning oil wells, to defoliation6, killing and injuring of animals,

destruction of flora and loss of biodiversity. Instruments of warfare that endanger the

environment range from hand rifles that result in individual harm to weapons of mass

destruction that include landmines, nuclear bombs and chemical weapons.

1.4 Landmines

1.4.1 Background to the Global Landmine Crisis

A landmine is defined as “a munition placed under, or near the ground or other

surface area and designed to be exploded by the presence, or proximity of a person or

vehicle” (ICRC, 1996, pp.3). Others extend this definition a little further to include “mass

produced, victim operated, explosive traps”(Croll, 1998, pp. ix) (See Appendix 1 for

pictorial description of the most common types of landmines). Landmines are generally

equipped with a fuse that is comprised of “a tripwire, an anti-handling device or a form of

electronic sensors” (Lloyd, 1997, pp.2).

The etymology of the word mine is derived from the Latin mina – a vein of ore;

the term was originally used to describe the excavation of materials from within the earth.

The technique and the word were later borrowed by “military engineers who dug mines

during sieges and packaged them with explosives to cause the collapse of fortification”

(Croll, 1998, pp. ix). They include booby traps, concealed spikes and stakes that are in

many ways similar to the contemporary landmines. The concept and use of these

6 Defoliation of different types of vegetation is caused by chemical warfare of herbicidal nature.

11

weapons can be traced back 2,500 years in history, making them one of the oldest tools in

warfare.

Landmines are broadly classified into two categories, as anti-personnel (AP) and

anti-tank (AT). They are targeted at and detonated by people and vehicles respectively.

Anti-personnel mines contain ten to 250 grams of explosives, while the Anti-tank mines

contain two to nine kilograms of explosives and usually require a pressure of at least 100

kilograms to be detonated (UNDHA, 1995). The International Committee of the Red

Cross (ICRC, 1996) has identified about 360 types of anti-personnel landmines that

are/were produced by approximately 55 countries.

Anti-personnel landmines are generally classified into two categories, as blast

mines and fragmentation mines (for more description see Appendix 2). Recently the

advancement in mine technology has enabled the development of mines with switches

and also mines that are self-neutralizing, or self-destructive, giving rise to the “smart”

mines whose life cycles are known, as opposed to the conventional “dumb” mines that

have been known to stay active for more than five decades (Lloyd, 1997).

Unless otherwise specified, the terms ‘landmine’ and ‘mine’ in this research are

used in reference to anti-personnel mines, and not anti-tank mines.

Landmines have a very persistent, undiscriminating and uncontrolled nature that

makes them different from other weapons. Once mines are laid in the ground they pose

threats for decades; they cannot be recalled by the military when a cease-fire is declared,

each and every mine must be individually disarmed or destroyed, or it will potentially

claim a victim (McGrath, 1994). Other than the personal harm and emotional trauma

(Goliath, 1998) that are their direct outcomes, landmines are weapons of social cataclysm

12

(IANHRD, 1997) that have “an insidious multiplier effect that can shatter human

potential and drain resources throughout the entire fabric of society… with [potential] to

continue to bring misery to generations” (Davies 1997).

Landmines cease being strictly military entities when the enemy is no longer their

victim – at the time they start killing innocent civilians, children, and refugees, and when

they deny land for agriculture or other civilian purposes (McGrath, 1994). Right after that

moment they become things that affect rehabilitation and development and in this

research they are dealt with as such.

In 1994, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, Boutros Boutros-Ghali wrote:

“Like a deadly disease long absent and assumed conquered, the landmine, that scourged the battlefield of the World War I, has emerged on a scale unimaginable and with hideous, unanticipated effects … there is today a global landmine crisis”(Boutros-Ghali, 1994, pp.8). Landmines may be “the most toxic and widespread pollution facing mankind”

(USDoS, 1993, pp.2; quoted in Gray, 1997, pp. 2). This assertion is supported by the

widely accepted definition of pollution as

“The introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the environment resulting in deleterious effects of such nature as to endanger human health, harm living resources and ecosystems, and impair or interfere with amenities and other legitimate uses of the environment7” (McGrath, 1998, pp.9). Today there is a global crisis whose extent no one knows for sure. It is estimated

that more than 110 million active mines are scattered in 70 countries with an equal

number stockpiled around the world waiting to be planted (see Fig 1.1) (UNMAS, 1999).

International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) estimate there is

one mine laid for every 48 people, which comes to one for 16 children in the world

13

(IPPNW, 2000). The mine problem – as the size of the minefields – is as extensive as

people fear it is, because no one can say for sure how many landmines are laid out there

and where

7 This is a definition of pollution that is adopted by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development in 1974; it was also incorporated into the Montreal Rules of International Law applicable to transfrontier pollution of 1982 (McGrath 1998).

14

Countries m

ost threatened by landmines

Figure 1.1 (Source: G

erman Initiative to B

an Landmines 1999).

15

exactly they are laid. Those who laid the mines are not telling and no one besides them

can make a definite assertion; all we have to go on are our educated guesses.

Over 400 million landmines are believed to have been deployed since the

beginning of World War II, including more than 65 million in the 15 years since the

formulation of the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW)8 which attempts

to regulate their use (Roberts and Williams, 1995). The current global landmine crisis is

largely the result of the huge number of mines laid in the 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s.

Currently, many countries, the majority of which are developing, are identified as

facing the most severe landmine problems (for more information see table 1.4). Many

countries have been, and are continuing to be, extensively and indiscriminately mined.

We have reached the point where now there are an estimated 10 million mines each in

Afghanistan, Iraq and China; while Angola and Cambodia closely follow with unsure

estimates of eight to 15 million mines within their boundaries. Bosnia, Croatia,

Mozambique, and Eritrea come next on this list with around 2 million mines each. The

crisis is so severe that there are an estimated 50 mines per square kilometer in Cambodia,

49 in Bosnia, 35 in Croatia, 26 in Mozambique, 22 in Iraq, 15 in Afghanistan, and 12 in

Eritrea (see table 1.1).

8 The full name of the CCW is the 1980 Convention on the Prohibition or Restriction of the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons that may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or Having Indiscriminate Effects. Protocol II of the CCW attempts to restrict the use of landmines and limit their injurious effects. (Roberts and Williams, 1995)

16

Table 1.1 Number of mines per square kilometer in some of the landmine-affected countries of the world.

Country Number of mines Total land area (Km2) Number of mines per Km2

Afghanistan Iraq China Angola Cambodia Bosnia Croatia Mozambique Eritrea Sudan Somalia

10 million 10 million 10 million

9-15 million 8-10 million 2-3 million 2 million 2 million

1-2 million 1 million 1 million

657,500 448,742

9,561,000 1,246,700 181,035 51,233 56,538 78,030 121,320

2,505,823 637,661

15.2 22.2 1.0 9.6 49.7 48.8 35.4 25.6 12.4 0.4 1.6

(Source: Misak et al, 1999 and US Department of State, 1998)

Landmines are usually referred to as cheap weapons. In strictly military terms,

they may well be, but in humanitarian terms they are very far from inexpensive (Roberts

and Williams, 1995). A landmine that originally costs $3, costs between $300 and $1000

to clear, maims or kills an estimated 500 people per week9(LWR10, 1999), and adds to

untold more millions in humanitarian and environmental costs (UNGA11, 1994) (for more

on humanitarian impacts of landmines, see Appendix 3). Although landmines are not

usually considered as weapons of mass destruction, “more people have been killed by

anti-personnel mines than by nuclear and chemical weapons combined…landmines truly

are weapons of mass destruction in slow motion” (Cameron et. al, 1998, pp.13). The

proportion of mines laid to population is so atrocious that there is today close to one mine

9 The International Committee of the Red Cross estimates more than 800 people are killed, plus thousands more maimed per month from explosive remnants of war. In the last decade alone 36,000 and 23,000 amputations have been recorded in Cambodia and Somalia, respectively (Westing, 1996b). 10 Lutheran World Relief. 11 United Nations General Assembly.

17

laid for each citizen of Cambodia and Bosnia (see table 1.2); while every one of two

people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Croatia, Eritrea and Sudan faces a threat from these

indiscriminating and unforgiving weapons.

Table 1.2 Number of mines per person in some of the landmine-affected countries of the world.

Country Number of mines

Total population (in millions)

Number of people per mine

Afghanistan Iraq China Angola Cambodia Bosnia Croatia Mozambique Eritrea Sudan Somalia

10 million 10 million 10 million 9-15 million 8-10 million 2-3 million 2 million 2 million 1-2 million 1 million 1 million

20.1 20.4

1.2 billion 11.1 10.3 3.2 4.7 16 3.6 28.1 9.3

2 2

100 1 1 1 2 80 2 2 10

(Source: Misak et al, 1999 and US Department of State, 1998)

Their long-term impacts and indiscriminate nature have earned landmines a

reputation that grants them the name “eternal sentry” (Williams and Goose, 1998). Other

than the already-realized humanitarian, social and environmental impact of landmines,

they are bound to claim even more casualties because of their long time-span and the

difficulty involved in demining. Winslow (1997) cites a 1994 United Nations Report

saying that even if mine laying stopped immediately, clearing the world of mines could

cost $33 billion and take 1,100 years. Unfortunately, that is not happening, and it is

believed that 20 new mines are being laid for every mine cleared (UNMAS, 1998).

18

The landmine crisis has been receiving a lot of international attention lately

through the works of different non-governmental and humanitarian agencies and the

special interest the media has developed in the mine issue. Much research has been

conducted as a result of outraged public opinion (Croll, 1998). A lot has been done to

document the scope of the crisis by different large-scale surveys and experiences of aid

and development agents. There is also a movement that was created and led by several

agencies that make up the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize winning International Campaign to

Ban Landmines (ICBL), in order to secure a total ban of anti-personnel landmines. The

mine ban treaty that came out after the Ottawa convention12 has received tremendous

support from different parts of the world and it is hoped to possibly bring an end to the

misery of people and nature that is caused by this menace.

In 1980, the need was recognized to impose proper regulations on the use of

landmines in an indiscriminate manner, and therefore regulation for the use of landmines

was specified in the Landmine Protocol (Protocol II) of the United Nations to restrict the

use of landmines and limit their injurious effect. Convention on the Prohibition or

Restriction on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which may be deemed

to be Excessively Injurious, or having Indiscriminate Effects has been effective and is

ratified by 62 states to date. During a review of the conference in May 1996, the

participants of the conference endorsed “self-neutralizing, self-deactivating and

12 The landmark treaty entitled: “Convention on the Prohibition, Use, Production, Transfer and Stockpiling of Anti-personnel Landmines and on their destruction” was signed in Ottawa, Canada in December of 1997; in order to set an international norm of illegality for the use, stockpiling, production and trade of landmines, and also to bind countries to attend to the urgent need for demining and victim assistance. The treaty was signed by 123 countries in Ottawa, but some of the major producers, including the USA, Russia and China, have still not signed the treaty. (Grange and Larson, 1998)

19

detectable mines”13. The fact that it was just a protocol and can impose no control over

the manner in which wars are fought and because of the very nature of war itself, it

became clear that the CCW could not do a lot to stop the crisis. This disappointing result

of the conference has been criticized by agencies that are involved in mine action and

those that are working with the ICBL.

The next step that was taken in order to provide a legal framework for

international cooperation on mine action is what is known as the 1997 Mine Ban or

Ottawa Treaty. The United States based Human Rights Watch, one of the leading

agencies in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines states,

“The 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction represents a breakthrough in the struggle against landmines. In addition to its complete prohibition of anti-personnel mines, the Ban Treaty requires destruction of stockpiled anti-personnel landmines within four years and destruction of mines already in the ground within ten years.” (HRW, 1999, pp.1) In December of 1997, 123 countries signed the Ottawa Treaty in Ottawa, Canada

(Grange and Larson, 1998). As of December 3, 199914, 136 countries have signed the

treaty while 89 of them have also ratified it. By September 1998, 40 countries had ratified

the treaty, thus making the treaty an international law as of 1 March 1999. Since the

treaty became law, countries may no longer sign it, they must accede. Those countries

which have already signed, must still ratify it in order to be fully bound by the ban

provisions (ICBL, 1999A).

13 This means “parties are free to use landmines as they wish so long as they follow the guidelines of the revised Protocol which prohibit the use of all undetectable ‘dumb’ mine, requires that the remotely delivered AP mines be designed to self-destruct within thirty days with ninety percent reliability; requires that detectable but non-self-neutralizing mines be used in areas that are fenced off, marked and guarded and that the party that lays the mines is responsible for cleaning them; and outlaws the export and import of undetectable mines which are prohibited under this rule” (Lloyd, 1997, pp. 21) 14 December 3 is the Anniversary of the Ottawa Treaty signing; it is also the International Day of Handicaps.

20

A number of issues regarding the Mine Ban Treaty have been raising serious

concerns. First, more than 65 million of the landmines that constitute the present crisis

were deployed in the 15 years since the formulation of the 1980 Convention on

Conventional Weapons (CCW) (Roberts and Williams, 1995); second, there have been

cases in which some signatories of the Ottawa Treaty have used AP landmines in their

current wars (HRW, 1999); and third, from a mine clearance perspective, this treaty has a

potential to be very challenging to implement. Bringing the landmine crisis under control

during the next decade is bound to be difficult, if not entirely impossible.

The issue of landmines in developing countries is further complicated because

landmines are gravely affecting the world’s poorest nations that have the least resources

available to deal with the aftereffects. The post-conflict humanitarian and environmental

impacts of landmines and the resulting social and economic disaster for millions of

people are issues of paramount concern in the developing world (Roberts and Williams,

1995).

1.4.2 The Landmine Crisis of the Developing World – Issues of Paramount Concern

In scale, the landmine crisis is global, with 87 countries in the world affected by

landmines and unexploded ordinances (NPA15, 1999). The menace of landmines has been

and continues to be a problem in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. However,

landmines are ultra-hazardous16 to the environment and development of many of the

developing countries of the world because of consequential damages that they cause and

their ability to arrest or even destroy the basis of development. International Physicians

15 NPA stands for the Norwegian People’s Aid.

21

for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) have pronounced landmine as a “highly

toxic pollutant and major contributor to economic and social impoverishment especially

in the third world” (IANHRD, 1997, pp.1).

When studying the landmine crisis within the framework of regional political

ecology, among the many things that make the cases of developing countries more

challenging are that most of the highly mine affected countries are those listed in the year

2000 Human Development Report – produced by the United Nations Development

Program (UNDP) – as the least developed and poorest countries in the world (See table

1.3). The human development ranking is developed from such indicators including per

capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP), life expectancy, and education levels. In the

report, those countries with a ranking higher than 140 are described as having low human

development, while 47 – 140 are medium and below 47 are highly developed countries.

In total one third of all developing countries are currently contaminated with landmines.

16 In legal terms an ultra-hazardous activity is one that is characterized because of its likelihood to result in pollution and serious consequences that may result from damage caused by the activity (McGrath 1998).

22

Table 1.3 Human development ranking of mine affected countries17.

Country Number of landmines Human development ranking

Angola Afghanistan Iraq Cambodia Bosnia/Herzegovina Croatia Mozambique Eritrea Kuwait Somalia Ethiopia Nicaragua Azerbaijan El Salvador Vietnam Laos Iran

9-15 million 10 million 10 million

8-10 million 2-3 million 2 million 2 million

1-2 million 1.6 million 1 million 500,000 108,000 50,000 10,000

Unknown Unknown Unknown

160 -

126 136

- 49 168 159 36 -

171 116 90 104 108 140 97

(Source: UNDP 2000 and Misak et al, 1999)

Continentwise Africa currently has the gravest problem of landmines with 27

nations, including Somaliland experiencing serious landmine problems (Westing, 1996b).

Many more countries from the different continents are also listed as having severe to

most severe, from tens of thousands to tens of millions – landmines (see table 1.4).

17 In the Human Development Report 2000, UNDP determined the development ranking of 174 countries.

23

Table 1.4 Countries with reported severe landmine impacts.

AFRICA AMERICAS ASIA EUROPE MOST SEVERE Angola Djibouti Egypt Eritrea Ethiopia Malawi Mozambique Somalia (and Somaliland) Sudan

El Salvador Nicaragua

Afghanistan Cambodia China Iraq Kuwait Vietnam Yemen

Bosnia-Herzegovina Croatia Yugoslavia

SEVERE Chad Mauritania Morocco Namibia Rwanda Zimbabwe Zambia

Guatemala Honduras

Burma Iran Israel Laos Lebanon Sri Lanka Syria

Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Tajikistan

LESS SEVERE Botswana Liberia Libya South Africa Burundi Uganda DR Congo Congo-Brazzaville Niger Swaziland

Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cuba

India Malaysia New Caledonia Oman Pakistan Thailand

Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Estonia Germany Latvia Lithuania Netherlands Poland Russia Turkey

(Source: Data collected from Arms Project for Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights, 1993; NPA, 1999; and ICBL, 1999b).

In most cases, the population’s survival and their development are dependent on

land-based arable or pastoral activities. By denying access to land, landmines limit food

production, and create/exacerbate poverty and malnutrition. Landmines can seriously

affect populations by destroying the stability of the soil structure and killing livestock

they depend on as means of income generation. The effects of landmines on the land and

the lives of people that depend on that land are further manifested as socio-economic

24

problems of urban areas. Disruption of their traditional subsistence lives has forced many

rural inhabitants to move to urban centers where they have further contributed to the

problems of overcrowded housing, traffic congestion, unemployment, shortage in water

supply, sanitation and waste disposal (IANHRD, 1997).

Wars, unfavorable climatic and economic conditions, and sustained poverty have

limited the resources and capacity of many (almost all) of the landmine-affected countries

in the developing world to combat the impacts of landmines (Eden, 1996). Moreover,

environmental impacts are viewed as secondary to humanitarian disasters; weighing the

claims of humans against other resources of nature has proven to be problematic (Stone,

1998). In addition, many governments in the developing world have shown uncertain

commitment to the environment (Eden, 1996).

Other than the above-listed issues, the landmine problem in the developing

countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America is not only a socio-economic and

environmental issue, its projection also extends to politics (Eden, 1996). Continued

militarization of former battlegrounds and denial of access to resources have been reasons

for power struggles and even further conflicts.

Most of the wars of developing countries – and the resulting landmine crises –

have been and are constantly being aggravated with the support of outside entities from

the western developed/capitalist world and those in the former socialist/communist

eastern block. External forces provide the weapons of mass destruction to both opposing

forces and add more fuel to the conflicts (See Fig 1.2). This is yet another example of the

rich getting richer while ensuing persistence of poverty and misery in the lives of the

poor. Most of the war devastated countries of the third world are burdened with large

25

medical expenses for the landmine-disabled people and economies that are sinking

deeper in foreign debts due to military expenses (Ngwenya, 1999).

26

The source and destination of landm

ines – for Angola, A

fghanistan, countries of the former Y

ugoslavia, Iraq, Cam

bodia, V

ietnam, and M

ozambique.

Figure 1.2 (Source: O

ne World 1999).

http://ww

w.onew

orld.org/ni/issue294/minesm

ap.htm

27

Especially in developing countries, landmines play a very prominent role in

perpetuating underdevelopment through eco-terrorism; long after the troops have

withdrawn and all the guns have been silenced “landmines remain in the ground as brutal

reminders that successful peace building and development are still beyond the horizon”

(Boutros-Ghali, 1994, pp.8).

1.5 A Conceptual Framework for Problem Identification and Analysis

1.5.1 Introduction to Land Degradation

Land degradation is defined as an environmental phenomenon where the “ability

of the land to produce the goods and/or services people demand from it is found to be

declining” (Biot, 1991, as quoted in Dahlberg, 1994, pp.9). Land degradation is

“reduction or loss of the biological and physical productivity and complexity of land

resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of processes, including

processes arising from human activities” (Pagiola, 1999, pp. 2; and Blaikie and

Brookfield, 1987). Johnson and Lewis (1995, pp.2) characterize the loss in intrinsic

qualities or decline in capability due to land degradation as ‘substantial decrease in either

or both of an area’s biological productivity and usefulness’.

The word ‘degradation’ was derived from Latin and it implies ‘reduction to a

lower rank’; where the ‘rank’ is in relation to actual or possible uses, and reduction

implies a problem for those who use the land. The different definitions of land

degradation indicate a drop in rank or status; and all of them have in common the loss of

utility or the reduction, loss or change of features or organisms that are hard, if not

entirely impossible, to replace (Barrow, 1991). Blaikie and Brookfield (1987) have

28

stressed that purely natural and environmental problems such as drought, leaching and

erosion occur with or without human interference; however, for these natural processes to

be portrayed as ‘degradation’ implies a socially decisive factor that relates land to its

actual or possible uses. When land is degraded, it endures a loss of inherent qualities or a

decline in capability of land to satisfy a particular use or possible intended future uses.

Recently, land degradation has emerged as a more formal and generalized concept

that covers the dynamics of soil, vegetation, other relating ecological systems, and

resulting social impacts (Barrow, 1991; Dahlberg, 1994 and Eden, 1996) that arise as

responses to a multitude of complex interacting physical progressions along with human

values and constrictions (Barrow, 1991) in the ecosystem. The contemporary, a little bit

customized and holistic, definition of land degradation incorporates different natural and

man-made phenomena of decrepitude of human living conditions, drought, soil erosion,

and loss of vegetation cover (Eden, 1996).

Many researchers (Barrow, 1991; Blaikie and Brookfield, 1987; Dahlberg, 1994;

and Eden, 1996) emphasize that land degradation is an interdisciplinary issue, one that

should by definition include both biophysical and social problems and restoration

capabilities. What matters in the case of land degradation is not only the movement of top

soil, the introduction of harmful heavy metals, the increase in salinity, the reduction in

organic matter and soil sealing, but also the impact on the “ability of soil to generate

‘well-being’ through the range of goods and services the land produces” (Biot, 199118, as

quoted in Dahlberg, 1994, pp.9). Therefore, degradation is best viewed not as a one-way

18 Biot, Y., 1991: Quantifying sustainability. Paper presented at the International Workshop on Evaluation for Sustainable Land Management in the Developing World. Chiang Rai, 15-20 September 1997, 27p.

29

street, but rather as a result of forces, or product of an equation, in which both human and

natural forces play a role.

1.5.2 Theoretical Context

Development planning in war-torn and less developed countries must consider a

complex set of issues that include varying cultural, natural and climatic conditions; weak

economic and natural resource base and capacities that are usually even further destroyed

by long wars, and different local and national policies. The presence of landmines further

complicates rehabilitation and development planning by restricting access to resources

and inflicting horrifying damages even after all the guns have fallen silent. The

complexity of the issues requires a conceptual framework capable of analyzing the

problem in terms of an environmental, economic, social and political nexus. The

consideration of non-quantifiable, non-material dimensions of landmine related problems

(for example: disruption of resources, community, social values, self-efficacy and others)

are also of great importance.

While efforts have been made to study the landmine crisis through the application

of different sociological concepts and models, there is a shortage of studies that view the

landmine crisis as an environmental problem that has implications for development of

countries and nations. Representatives of non-governmental organizations active in mine

action, joined by members of international organizations and government departments,

gathered in Berlin, Germany (1999) in order to review the Bad Honnef Guidelines19 of

19 Guidelines by and for NGOs that were produced in mid 1997 at the meeting sponsored by the German Campaign it elaborates integrated mine action programs by placing them in the context of long-term development. (ICBL, 1999a)

30

1997 and highlighted the need for an integrated approach guided by development-based

principles to deal with landmine impacts. By employing principles and methods of land

degradation, an interdisciplinary approach, this study falls within the realm of inquiry

into the dynamic relationships between natural and human systems. The theoretical

background employed in this study draws upon the concepts and causal links of land

degradation in human-environment relationships, and the ideas of rural and regional

development planning.

The regional political ecology perspective provides a framework within which the

interrelated social, economic, political and ecological variables of management can be

examined in order to seek effective solutions to problems of development and

environmental maintenance. The regional political ecology approach can be described as

one that encompasses interactive effects, different geographical scales, socio-economic

organizations and the contradictions between social and environmental changes through

time (Blaikie and Brookfield, 1987). The concept of regional political ecology considers

the variability in land capability and degradation in light of the ecological, political and

economic systems in which the resources are consumed. The framework is a useful tool

for examining natural resource capability, impact from human populations, underlying

economic situations, loss or degradation of means of subsistence of rural communities

and impacts on national economies.

In the case of landmine affected regions, a comprehensive understanding of the

presence of landmines and its implications and proper inclusion of local communities in

the development processes are crucial in order to lead rehabilitation and developmental

efforts in one way or another. For example (a logical assumption), uninformed,

31

ineffective and inadequate policies that only consider personal harm but not

environmental, economic and social implications cannot help the development processes

in the way that they should, because they do not consider the livelihood of farmers whose

land-based agricultural capital is subject to increased decline or degradation, including

loss of other benefits incurred to the family’s financial income and the impact on the

soil’s health in terms of loss of topsoil, fertility of the soil and pollution from the toxic

substances that are found in landmines. In societies whose development greatly depends

on agriculture, it follows that the deterioration of rural agricultural systems leads to a

weakened national economy. Ineffective resource management and development policies

also amount to subsidized or aid-dependent income at the expense of rural community

development.

There is a lack of research on the landmine problem as an environmental impact

that has implications for the development of countries and nations. In order to better

understand and analyze these environmental implications in a development context, this

research borrows methods and ideas from the literature in rural land development, natural

hazard/disaster, and refugee and displacement studies.

Using the conceptual framework of regional political ecology to guide this research is

beneficial because it provides an inclusive understanding of human-environment

relationships, and because it provides usable insights into the importance of multi-

dimensional, multi-scale analysis of problems related to development in the South.

Adoption of this perspective helps to construct a “chain of explanation” (Blaikie and

Brookfield, 1987, pp.12) that links the usually site-specific bio-physical products of land

degradation to social, political and economic factors that operate at different scales

32

ranging from local to global (Pires, 1999). Employment of the perspectives of regional

political ecology for the landmine crisis helps to move the current paradigm in landmine

impact studies from a narrower outlook of one that is concerned with only the personal

injuries and emotional trauma on victims to one of a broader scale that encompasses the

impacts on the natural environment and its implications for development of regions.

By adopting principles of regional political ecology that integrate the natural sciences

perspective of ecology with social perspective from political economy in an historical

context (Pires, 1999), this study attempts to explain the developmental challenges of

landmine affected areas based on an informed understanding of the environmental

impacts related to land degradation, land use under the circumstances, and their

significance on regional resource development. This knowledge is essential for

identifying the elemental components of the environmental planning model.

1.6 Plan for the Research

Following this introductory chapter, the remainder of this research is composed of

the succeeding four chapters.

Chapter two is the literature review and provides substantial background information

and discussions related to environmental impacts of landmines, problems and costs of

land degradation, and land degradation through warfare, specifically landmines. This

chapter further discusses the causal links and indicators of land degradation, the concepts

of ecological carrying capacity, paradigms in land degradation research, and finally

sustainable development. Some of the issues that are discussed include impacts on land,

its use and productivity; factors causing land degradations; development pressures that

33

can lead to taking risks or creating a shift to other practices, abandonment or emigration;

ecosystem management, and issues related to human relations with land.

The third chapter presents the research approach, methodology and analysis,

including an introduction to the qualitative research. This section provides explanation on

why qualitative methodology was chosen to guide this study. This chapter also includes

description of the data collection methods, and the methods and procedures of analysis

that are followed to interpret the findings of the research.

The fourth chapter presents the results and findings of the research in terms of

threats – the environmental and socio-economic dimensions of the conceptual framework

and the interrelationships in the landmine-environment nexus. This is followed by

illustrations of the implications of these effects on regional development – a section that

builds the floor for the political dimension of the framework to address effective

management and conservation policies.

Chapter five concludes the research by providing the summaries, conclusions and

recommendations that can be derived from this study. This chapter also considers the

utility of the conceptual framework of regional political ecology for use in landmine

related studies. The implications of the impacts on regional development, the challenges

ahead, limitations of the study and how future studies in this area could progress to enrich

the subject matter and provide avenues for more effective solutions are discussed at the

end of this research.

34

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Paradigms in Land Degradation Research

2.1.1. Regional Political Ecology

Landmine-related environmental problems are varied in nature and are too

complex to be studied with traditional models of the natural sciences. This complexity in

the nature of the problems makes the purely biophysical perspectives insufficient to

understand the broad array of factors intervening at different spatial and temporal levels.

The relatively newer and innovative approach of regional political ecology borrows

concepts from ecology and political economy to provide a useful approach in the search

for more a comprehensive understanding of this human-environment problem20 (Blaikie

and Brookfield, 1987; Pires, 1999 and Keil et al., 1998).

Studies in land degradation and landmine impacts need the collection of massive

amounts of data, including physical changes in the soil and vegetation, decline in

productivity of the land, population health and movement, income and market conditions,

value and productivity of resources. These constructed data demand very detailed

technical exercises and a lot of biophysical modeling of relationships that are inundated

by enormous uncertainties and errors in definitions and measurements. Presented with

these problems, Blaikie and Brookfield turned to the idea of Thompson and Warburton

(1985a,b)21 that proposes a means for dealing with these uncertainties. In order to be able

20 The combined use of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (EIA and SIA) principles and methodologies can also be helpful tools to be employed in addressing such complex problems with both ecological and social concerns. 21 (a) Thompson, M. and Warburton, M. (1985) ‘Uncertainty on a Himalayan Scale’, Mountain Research Development 5, 115-35; and (b) Thompson, M. and Warburton, M. (1985) ‘Knowing Where to Hit: a

35

to adapt this approach to land degradation it became necessary to avoid sole hypothesis

explanations and move away from single ‘scientific’ definitions and reductionist

explanations. The foremost elemental component of this approach was accepting

pluralism – “plural perceptions, plural problem definitions, plural expectations and plural

rationalities” (1987, pp. 16). This integrated approach to land degradation promotes

effective assessment of impacts including the socio-political importance of specific

degradations (Eden, 1996).

Regional political ecology is the suggested approach to tackle this complexity. It

has the capacity to make use of limited data; for example, the exact relationship between

the land-user/manager and the land itself (Blaikie and Brookfield, 1987 and Pires, 1999).

Regional political ecology is an approach that endeavors to coalesce purely natural and

social science perspectives in order to study the relationships between land degradation

and society by considering important interactive and feedback effects through time at an

appropriate spatial scale. The adjective ‘regional’ represents environmental variability

and the spatial variation in resilience and sensitivity of the land, as different demands are

put on the land through time, and it also implies the incorporation of environmental

considerations into theories of regional growth and decline. By taking into consideration

the continuously changing dialectic between society and land-based activities, the phrase

‘political ecology’ addresses the concerns of both ecology and political economy (Blaikie

and Brookfield, 1987).

Political ecology is an innovative, relatively recent area of critical explanation that

finds its roots in political economy and cultural studies (Keil et al., 1998). Political

conceptual framework for the sustainable development of the Himalayas’ Mountain Research and Development, 5, 203-20.

36

economy is defined as a practical science concerned with principles that inform the

production, distribution, and exchange of resources in order to advance the prosperity of

a nation (Fawcett, 1874 and Ware, 1844). Political economy places weight on private

affairs – it explores the characteristics of the private world in terms of how it works to

satisfy human needs and strives to understand the limits of that ‘private’ world (Levine,

1995).

In his widely popular pieces, Karl Marx lists capital, land, labor, the state, foreign

trade and world markets as categories that are deemed essential to study the field of

political economy. Environment, noticeably absent in Marx’s work, is not just an

ideological notion. Systems of society, economy and ecology play active roles in political

economy and consideration for the well being of the ecosystem needed to be

acknowledged. However, one cannot simply add ‘the environment’ to the list because it

would not fit just like any other socially determined factor in the process of material

production (Keil et al., 1998). The incorporation of environmental concerns in the

concept has forced the reconceptualization of the whole field to an emerging area of

study known as political ecology, where appropriations of societal relationships with

nature are realized.

Political ecology is concerned with the complete/whole system of being – a blend

of social, economic, political and ecological objectives and adaptations – meant to

recognize dynamic relationships in the ecosystem (Bennett, 1984). Political ecology

redefines life qualities in opposition to the ideology of limitless growth and promotes the

imposition of ecological science on political notions. In the process of affirming the

scientific verification of ecological crisis, political ecology advances attempts at

37

amalgamation and organic scrutiny; biocentric22 humanism; disarmament, and social and

civilian defense; and participatory actions (Roussopoulos 1993).

One aim of political ecology is to ensure that the linkage between developments and

degradation become explicit political issues (Eden, 1996). The impacts of land

degradation can be different - short-term or long-term, or reversible or irreversible –

whichever the case, populations sustain damage in their socio-economic well being due

to the land degradation alone or other factors that are introduced as its aftereffects. An

evenhanded political outlook on the comparative damages and potentially effective

management solutions becomes critical when formulating policy responses.

Many of the countries in the South are suffering from a combination of problems

that include land degradation, political and economic peripheralization, sluggish

production, emigration and poverty that create and/or hasten marginalization of people

and resources. In regional political ecology marginality can have three different but

related definitions as would relate to neo-classical economics (marginal unit is the last

unit of a factor which when brought into production just covers its own cost), ecology

(marginal unit of a resource is when natural conditions will just permit the plant or

animal to survive) and political economy (marginalization refers to class of people that

are excluded from different socio-economic activities due to ongoing changes). Land

degradation – which can be both a cause and result of marginalization – can result in a

vicious cycle of increased impoverishment and marginalization of land and land

managers (Blaikie and Brookfield, 1987 and Tietenberg, 2000).

22 Biocentric values, also referred to as ecocentirc or universal, are value systems relevant to environmental attitudes where the concern is for the well being of the ecosystem or biosphere as a whole – actions are judged according to their effects on the biosphere (Gardner and Stern, 1996).

38

The wide variety of circumstances surrounding land degradation and the many

conjunctural powers operating at one place and time make searching for a uni-causal

model of explanation vain and call for regional political ecology to employ a more

inclusive and comprehensive ‘chain of explanation’. The chain of explanation of

theoretical bases are from the natural and social sciences. The chain starts out with land

managers and their relationship with the land, and links that with the relations of the land

mangers with each other and groups in the wider society that can affect land

management. This is further linked with state and global conditions at the end of the

chain (Blaikie and Brookfield, 1987).

Population and land degradation can be related at the two extreme points of

underpopulation and overpopulation, in terms of exerting pressure on resources. Low and

excessive populations create pressure on resources by causing abandonment of land or

causing the per capita land area to grow smaller respectively (Blaikie and Brookfield,

1987). This implies that there must be a critical level of population to reduce stress on

resources and create optimal conditions, where this critical level of optimality of the

resource is what is known as carrying capacity.

The approach of regional political ecology that is adopted in this research shares

similar historical and dynamic perspectives with some of the recent directions in natural

hazard and disaster research. In both the models, trigger events that start the crises and

catastrophes have explanatory linkages with land degradation – both begin from the

concurrence of physical and social processes (Burby, 1998).

39

2.1.2 Land Management, Managers

By defining land degradation as the loss or reduction of the productive capacity of

land Blaikie and Brookfield make the role of land management explicit. Land

management is defined as “applying known or discovered skills to land use in such a way

as to minimize or repair degradation, and ensures that the capability of the land is

continued beyond the present activity, so as to be available for the next” (1987, pp. 7).

Land management strategies could be categorized as ‘avoidance’ or ‘control’

mechanisms depending on the techniques that are used to manage both onsite and offsite

and short- and long-term degradation problems.

Land management usually requires knowledge to provide urgent attention and

continuous monitoring in addition to labor, capital and special tools. The required types

and amounts of management practices can vary depending on nature of the land/soil,

surrounding climatic conditions and interference from human beings. A land manager,

that is user, undertakes various preventive or correctional methods, as they are needed.

Since the land managers can have varying demands, claims and decision criteria for the

land, it becomes important to clearly identify land managers. By making land a resource

in use regional political ecology makes land managers leading actors in the problem

solving. Provision of resources and incentives for land management from the level of

national governments may be necessary but learning from land manager’s insight of

problems, and basing responding government policies on that knowledge excludes

coercive land management problems and promotes participatory problem solving (Blaikie

and Brookfield, 1987 and Eden, 1996).

40

2.2 Land Degradation: Concepts, Principles and Causes

Land degradation is a human induced environmental problem that has potential to

affect natural resources and every fabric of society. The impacts of land degradation are

felt not only in specific localities where people directly depend on land for their survival

and well-being, but they are also more sustained and far reaching (Eden, 1996). When

people depend on land for their welfare, land degradation has effects on survival, income,

development, and micro- and macro-level management policy-making of a region

(Chisholm and Dumsday, 1987).

Land degradation is a threat to sustainability, economic growth and welfare of

rural populations in the developing world (Pagiola, 1999). There is a close relationship,

sometimes even overlap, between the different impacts of land degradation. The

biophysical impacts of land degradation, while creating specific technical obstacles to

productivity that need specific solutions, affect the economic activity and social welfare

of populations living in the affected areas (Eden and Parry, 1996).

Land degradation adversely affects the productive capacity of the land, that is the

land’s yield of labor, and results in a “quiet crisis”, which erodes the basis of civilization

and development (Blaikie and Brookfield, 1987; adapted from Lester Brown, 198123).

This view claims that the crisis is all encompassing, often insidious, nevertheless critical

to the future of humankind. When intrinsic production conditions are unfavorable, as in

the case of drought stricken areas, the margin of productivity and continued existence for

a producer on degraded land is smaller than that of a producer on better-managed land of

inherently similar quality. For example, in the past four decades in Ethiopia and Sudan

23 Brown, Lester R. 1981. “Eroding the base of civilization”. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 36:255-60, October.

41

adverse climatic conditions over extended time periods and land degradation have been

factors in perpetuating underdevelopment through the destructive cycle of decreased

productivity and famine for farmers and societies in degraded lands (Eckholm, 1976).

As stated in Eden (1996), Schreckenberg et al. (1990)24 have pointed out that

degradation of the biophysical environment is a process induced or accelerated by

humans. Although land degradation has traditionally been a technical issue and the

biophysical explanations of why land is degraded belong mainly in the dominion of the

natural sciences, its causes, effects and consequences are linked to socio-economic

conditions and its prospects related to political frameworks. Human instigated land

degradation occurs due to poor or lack of proper land management practices (Blaikie and

Brookfield, 1987 and Eden, 1996). Land degradation can result from different human

activities among which stand excessive population pressures, intensive land use including

application of chemicals, technology and mechanization to improve agricultural

productivity; overgrazing; abuse of forests that leads to deforestation; improperly defined

property rights; development related activities and war (Eden, 1996).

The different effects of land degradation have far reaching consequences that can

be felt both in the vicinity where land is damaged and far away from that area (Barrow,

1991). Some types of degradation, like soil nutrient depletion or problems with aeration

and infiltration, are relatively simple to understand and are locally manageable. Others,

like deforestation and permanent decline in the utility of land, are more complicated due

to their expansive biological feedbacks and general technical complexity. Worst-case

24 Schereckenberg, K., Hadley, M. and Dyer, M.I. (Eds) (1990) Management and Restoration of Human-Impacted Resources. Approaches to Ecosystem Rehabilitation. MAB Digest 5. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

42

scenarios of the latter type of degradation have been known to necessitate sounding the

alarm about environmental deterioration (Eden, 1996).

It is difficult to determine the exact costs of land degradation, which are made up

of external and on-site costs. One type of cost that begs attention in land degradation

studies and guides land management practices is opportunity cost25. The opportunity cost

of land degradation is “the income from production on degraded land less the costs of

repairing and preventing land degradation” (Barrow, 1991, pp.11).

Blaikie and Brookfield (1987) introduced the concept of net degradation as a

product of different natural processes and human related causes:

Net Degradation = [natural degrading processes + Human interference] - [natural reproduction + restorative management] This equation considers both beneficial and detrimental processes in nature and of

human beings. There can be some natural processes – for example, loss of soil by

erosion – that have detrimental effects on land, while on the other hand nature (the land)

has some capacity to reverse degrading processes and restore its capacity – for example,

when the soil exhibits rapid rates of soil formation. In a similar manner, when

considering the negative impacts of human beings, referred to in the equation as Human

interference, we also need to note human capacity in assisting in recovery and

reproduction.

Land degradation is a perceptual, interdisciplinary term and could be open to

multiple comprehensions depending on different conditions – of the resource and the land

25 Opportunity cost represents the net benefit forgone when the resource providing the service can no longer be used in its beneficial next use (Tietenberg, 2000).

43

managers. The characterization and definition of land degradation can vary slightly

depending on three factors that include:

• Who the users of the land are? It can vary depending on whether the land

users/managers are farmers, conservationists, pastoralists, the state, or developers

because there usually are different physical changes of the biome that specifically

concern actual or potential land users.

• The manner in which the impact could be felt, depending on whether the impact

is felt individually as loss in fertility of a farmer’s land or denial of access to

communal land that affects the community.

• Whether the problem is being treated as one of natural or social nature (Blaikie

and Brookfield, 1987; Eden, 1996 and Eden and Perry, 1996).

For instance, even though it can lead to change in microclimate, hydrology and soil

conditions, deforestation doesn’t necessarily constitute degradation in a strictly

sociological sense. As far as welfare of the society is concerned, the deforested land can

be put into different uses that benefit the society, and there won’t be any social

degradation unless there is loss of benefit, or unless the society is worse off from the

present value of the product(s) of the land in comparison to what they used to get from

the forest. However, the impacts of land degradation are not only of biophysical nature,

and as a result, parallel social degradation occurs. The initial degradation has potential to

cause disturbance of the soil’s stability, erosion, or decline of its productive capacity.

This can result in indirect, and sometimes recurrent, patterns of human impoverishment

that can be expressed in terms of pollution, loss of biodiversity, increased cost of living,

44

loss of aesthetic quality of a region and etc. (Blaikie and Brookfield, 1987 and Eden and

Perry, 1996).

Among the many human related causes of land degradation that were listed earlier,

instruments of warfare stand out due to their scale and disastrous nature. Before, during,

and after conflicts, warfare that is supposed to win the most important prize, the land,

ends up ruining it.

2.3 Landmines and the Environment – Causal Links

2.3.1. Environmental Impacts of Landmines

Landmines directly or indirectly affect more or less every aspect of being in mine-

contaminated countries, at individual and national scales (Roberts and Williams, 1995).

Almost all of the environmental impacts of landmines that are realized in the developing

world after cessation of hostilities can be summed up by the term “desperate ecocide26”;

under extreme conditions to survive, people are practically forced to abuse the

environment and subject it to tremendous degradation because they have no one or no

where else to turn to.

As in many complex issues of social and physical nature, there is a reflexive and

two-way relationship (Blaikie and Brookfield, 1987) between landmines and their effects

in the environment. People plant landmines to prevent themselves and their resources

from harm and danger, but after they fight the battle, whether they win or loose, they are

left with unsafe conditions, in mine-infested environments that they can’t prosper from.

26 Blaikie and Brookfield (1987) use the term “desperate ecocide” to refer to the impact of human interference on the environment that results from ignorance, reckless quest for profit, poverty, deprivation and population pressures.

45

One of the well-documented and serious problems associated with landmines is

the denial of access to resources. By making large tracts of land off-limits and rendering

them unusable due to their presence (or fear of), landmines cause shortage in the supply

of land - the basic, non-living resource of nature. The need for land exceeds its

availability, that is, the carrying capacity of a unit of land is exceeded. When rural land

“has been a theatre of military operations that have left a residuum of [l]andmines and

unexploded munitions” (Westing, 1996b, pp.295) the availability of land becomes

limited; “the land area in effect shrinks … land on which to live and build one’s cities, to

farm and graze one’s livestock, to log, to mine and quarry, to hunt and fish, and to

recreate” is no more readily available (Westing, 1985, pp.7). People whose livelihood

depends on those lands would be pushed to use – in more than a few incidents abuse – the

next available or marginal resources, or to migrate to urban centers in order to survive.

When land becomes off-limits, it is left fallow for long periods of time. In cases

of easily susceptible land or land with more than adequate capacity to restore itself, soil

can be lost, over dry, be sealed and in extreme cases even subjected to desertification. On

the other side, by blocking access to resources landmines can also have a favorable effect

on the environment. When landmine presence is known or feared in an area,

anthropogenic disruption of the natural conditions is minimized or completely avoided. It

contributes to regeneration of natural vegetation and habitat recovery (Westing, 1996a).

However, this can be realized only as long as plant roots or animals do not approach the

landmines and they remain unexploded.

Second, landmine presence and explosion could have undesirable effects on the

quality and quantity of soil and ground water in a particular piece of land. Landmine

46

explosions – while claiming a victim or during demining – have the capacity to result in

land degradation by disturbing the stability of the soil structure and making fertile topsoil

susceptible to erosion. Another undesirable impact of landmines is the introduction of

toxic pollutants to the land. Landmines pollute the earth’s surface because they constitute

non-biodegradable and toxic garbage. Landmines introduce 2,4,6-trinitrotoulene (TNT),

hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazide (RDX, or Cyclonite) or tetryl as high explosive

filters, and these compounds have been known to leach into soil and underground water

as the metal or timber casting of the mine disintegrates (Gray, 1997).

Third, landmine explosions threaten flora and fauna of a region by killing

animals, invading their habitat and thereby causing the loss of biodiversity and disruption

in the food web. Landmine explosions and threats have been known to cause wild fires

(Westing, 1996a) and abuse of forest resources and different types of vegetation, and

thereby causing or hastening deforestation (Gray, 1997; Robert and William, 1995; and

Nachón, 2000).

Fourth, by blocking access to agricultural areas, paths or other means of

transportation and communication, landmines become physical obstacles to health, unity

and reconstruction efforts in a region. Landmines restrict the addressing of public health

concerns, locust control, aid delivery, peacekeeping efforts, and delivery of government

services. Environmental problems of landmines have the capacity to leave communities

socially and economically isolated, thereby prolonging the need for international

assistance (Harpviken, 1999; McGrath, 1994; Ghebremedhin, 1993; United States State

Department, 1998; and Rock, 1999).

47

Fifth, demining and clearing operations targeted at alleviating the problems of

landmine presence have undesirable environmental consequences. Besides being

expensive and time consuming, landmine clearing operations – especially those using

techniques of detonation – can be environmentally disruptive because they can destroy

soil structure and stability or pollute the land with harmful contaminants (Millard 2000

and Westing, 1996b).

The environment and non-human casualties of landmines are “silent, anonymous

and nameless” (Cameron et al., 1998; pp.14); they usually are ranked secondary to the

direct impacts of landmines on human beings. In addition, money, efforts and resources

are diverted away from environmental management. The environmental and non-human

casualties are usually subject to further impoverishment and marginalization; at times the

degradation reaches a point of no return before something can be done about it.

Since the soil environment, and hence land, is typically associated with the

physical-chemical environment, it exhibits fundamental relationships to other

environmental components, and the impacts of landmines on land are therefore felt on the

vegetation, habitat, and cultural resources of a region (Canter, 1996). When landmines

create the dangers of degradation, the viability and sustainable development of societies

and generations is jeopardized. Pollution, destruction and depletion of resources that is

caused by landmines can lead to ecological destruction of enormous proportions,

affecting not only the local environment but even larger, regional environments, if not

global.

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2.3.2 Land degradation through warfare, Landmines

Many of the world’s farmers and pastoralists are going to face threats from

unexploded munitions for decades to come. Land degraded due to the presence of

landmines and other unexploded munitions, fires or other consequences of war is a

momentous reminder of the tragedy and sacrifices of war (Barrow, 1991 and Eden,

1996).

In the case of land degradation that is caused by landmines, it has diverse

underlying causes that are broadly social in character and often far removed from those

who manage and use the land. Land degradation can be caused directly through the

disturbances in the environment or the introduction of toxic pollutants into the earth’s

crust. Environmentally undesirable effects of demining processes, delay of these

demining processes, and lack of corrective measures can also exacerbate the problem

(Eden, 1996).

Landmines indirectly cause land degradation of enormous proportions, mainly out

of desperation. The degradation that results can be due to different landmine-related

causes including abandonment of productive land due to the presence – or fear – of

landmines, widespread growth of brush and woodland, depopulation of whole regions,

and long-term changes in agricultural practices forced by labor shortage. Shortsighted

policies, ignorance, neglect or misplaced priorities on the part of the actual land users

could also be factors that cause or accelerate the rate of land degradation. From this

pattern of causality derive human impacts that in turn damage the land users and the

broader society (Barrow, 1991 and Eden, 1996).

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The debris of war remains long after the cessation of hostilities, making land use

difficult and dangerous. Even if they survive, the people’s economic and social activities

are disrupted; they are unlikely to find satisfactory new lands that are safe from

landmines. Moreover, they also lose livestock, become refugees and have very few, if

any, resources left for environmental management (Barrow, 1991).

The interactive effects of landmines are also realized through time. Land

degradation can reduce the range of possible options for the potential uses to which land

can be put in the future, and change future life and history of generations to come unless

there is effective repair (Blaikie and Brookfield, 1987).

2.3.3 Causal Links

Ecosystems and bio-geochemical/bio-geophysical cycles are integrated and

delicately balanced systems that are capable of limited self-regulation and self-

maintenance to create stability. The systems’ stability is largely a function of sensitivity

and resilience to change; sudden disturbance can overstretch the systems’ ‘elasticity’ and

result in catastrophic changes (Barrow, 1991, pp.21) that have potential to cause

dangerous disequilibrium.

Land, as one of the major natural resources, provides the crucial link between the

biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem (W. Ghiorghis, 1993) and plays a great

role in maintaining that equilibrium. Our natural environment is the basis of our

development and most certainly a prominent factor that has potential to cripple it. At this

point in history, the natural environment is very fragile because of a combination of

abuse factors of human beings that range from overexploitation of resources to habitat

50

destruction, and therefore extinction of different forms of life. The most prominent causes

of this degradation are development, war and poverty (W.Ghiorghis 1993). The

interlinked ecological and economic decline that results from landmines can trap regions

in a development that spirals downward. Land degradation has more impact on people

when they have no opportunity for alternative livelihoods and/or dwelling sites (Barrow,

1991).

Robert and Williams (1994) state that larger portions of the national territories of

the countries that are turned into battlegrounds are agricultural and grazing lands. The

mining of these lands has led to increased poverty. Where landmines have been used in

large numbers they have had a significant effect on already taxed environments.

Populations with mine-limited access to agricultural or grazing land are pushed into

increasingly fragile, marginal lands, furthering the land’s rapid degradation. In some

instances where water resources have been mined, traditional rangelands have been

affected, causing overexploitation of fragile areas. Where mine contamination has

reached a degree that disrupts traditional rural lifestyles, populations may be forced to

move into urban environments, thereby contributing to overcrowding, unemployment and

other urban problems.

When studying land degradation it is imperative to mention the two qualitative

terms that describe the quality of land systems, soil, water and vegetation; they are

indicators of the effects the resource suffers. These two concepts are sensitivity and

resilience, also referred to as susceptibility and fragility respectively. Sensitivity refers to

the degree to which a land system undergoes change and its susceptibility to interference.

Resilience refers to the ability of the land system to regain its capability after

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interference. Sensitivity depicts the impacts that are suffered from human or other

interference, while resilience measures the restoration capital of the system, the need for

human interference and how much the system can absorb, utilize and benefit from the

interfering change (Blaikie and Brookfield, 1987). The sensitivity and resilience of a

system depends on the initial quality of the land and the nature of the interference. When

a land system is insensitive and highly resilient to the interfering forces of change, the

damage that could be caused is minimized and the needed land management is relatively

easier than when the properties of the land are at the other end of the spectrum.

To describe the causal link of landmine induced land degradation with

environmentally and socially crucial factors one can give the examples of deforestation

and loss of biodiversity. Deforestation has been accelerated by extensive use of

landmines. Where arable and pasture lands have been mined to such a degree that forests

become the only source of livelihood, the long-term consequences of selling old forests

and fruit trees give way to immediate survival pressures. Deforestation affects

marshlands, waterbeds, and climatic conditions, in the immediate locality and the

surrounding areas. Landmines have also threatened the already fragile environments of

some rare animals, such as the snow leopard in Afghanistan, which is already in danger

of extinction. In Africa, elephants and other animals have been killed or maimed by

landmines after national parks have been used as military bases. One of the few

remaining male silver-backed gorillas fell victim to a landmine (Robert and Williams

1994).

52

As quoted in Eden (1996), Young and Ishwaran (1989, pp.10)27 declare, ‘it is no

accident that poverty and degraded environments are generally coincident’. Degradation

of land has many interlinked and overarching problems that are not limited to either the

natural or social sciences. There is a crucial need for an integrated approach to land

degradation that encourages scrutiny of the linkages between specific degradations,

reveals commonalities in degradation monitoring, and facilitates assessment of the

relative criticality, and hence political significance, of particular degradations.

2.4. Sustainable Development

“Human development and well-being is inextricably bound to protection of the

earth’s environment” (Nadakavukaren, 1995). Impacts on the environment are reflected

as repercussions on development of the region. Sustainable development policies seek

means of combining policies, programs, and solutions that look beyond narrow,

conventional solutions to social and environmental problems and address them from a

broad, holistic viewpoint (Beatley and Manning, 1997).

War, through its destruction and explosive remnants, is one variable that poses

serious harm to the environment, and therefore development. The presence of landmines

in a region (whether they have detonated or not) has immense social, environmental,

economic and political implications. “Degradation of the environment constitutes a

serious threat to sustainable development of regions” and resources (Guyabaah, 1994).

Since “We can not isolate development from environment …[as] they are interrelated”

(Trivedi, 1994, pp. 9), real development can’t take place unless strategies are taken to

27 Young, M. and Ishwaran, N. (1989) Human Investment and Resource Use: A New Research Orientation at the Environment/Economics Interface. MAB Digest 2. Paris: United Nations Educational Scientific and

53

foster sustainable development. Development of regions is seriously affected by the

impacts of landmines and their potential in causing or exacerbating land degradation.

Landmines create trails of devastated environments and underdeveloped regions.

To develop means “to expand or realize the potentialities of, to bring gradually to

a fuller, greater or better state” (Daly, 1994, pp. 268). Development is “better utilization

of natural resources” (Gupta and Asher, 1998, pp. 3) and reduction in [n]ature’s drudgery

(Sharma, 1998), “the state of life in which the individual and society enjoy permanent

peace, happiness and contentment28” (Bahuguna, 1998, pp. 3).

The current trend and popular perception of development that is equated with

economic growth has made man a “butcher of nature” and has created a perverted society

whose achievements can be summed up as “plenty of things: but an irreparable loss of

resources, with increasing environmental hazards, disparities, dissatisfaction and

insecurity” (Bahuguna, 1998, pp.3). Some of the hazards of the current trend in

development are “degradation of land, depletion of forest cover, desertification, increased

toxic products, depletion of wildlife and extinction of species” (Sharma, 1994, pp.13),

which are ironically all the things that wars leave behind. The idea of ‘development’

where consideration for other forms of life and the environment is secondary (Beatley

and Manning, 1997) has backlashed, making it mandatory for the current generation to

think in terms of sustainable development (Sharma, 1994).

Sustainability, which finds its roots in the concept of ecological carrying

capacity29, seeks to limit environmental impacts and the consumption of natural resources

Cultural Organization. 28 Development, as defined in the beliefs of Buddha (Bahuguna 1998). 29 Canter (1996, pp. 344) defines ecological carrying capacity as “ the total number of plants and animals that can be supported by a particular ecosystem, with out reducing the environment’s long-term ability to

54

(Beatley and Manning, 1997). Sustainable development can be defined as “any activity

that raises social welfare with the maximum amount of resource conservation and the

minimum amount of environmental degradation allowable within given economic, social

and technical constraints” (Barrow, 1991, pp.29). The World Commission on

Environment30 and Development defines sustainable development as “development that

meets the current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet

their own needs” (Dubey, 1998, pp. 316). It is described as a “process of change in which

the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of

technological development and institutional changes are made consistent with future as

well as present needs” (Gupta and Asher, 1998; pp. 286).

In sustainable development, societies seek to live, develop and operate within the

natural limits, and their aim would be to minimize the extent of their ecological footprint.

Sustainable development calls for energetic efforts to reverse the degradation already

brought about and to pass along an environment of higher quality and condition (Beatley

and Manning, 1997). Barrow (1991, pp.30) explains that sustainable development strives

to maximize goals across three systems: that is,

o The biological system – with goals to sustain biological diversity and

productivity;

o The economic system – with goals to satisfy basic need, enhance quality,

improve useful goods and services;

sustain life at a desired level and quality.” It varies with the type of land resource and its inherent productivity, the climate and the usable resources that grow well in that ecosystem, as well as methods used to produce them. Barrow (1991) expands the concept of carrying capacity by stating that man has a capacity to stretch the natural carrying capacity of a resource, temporarily [there is very likely that there would be diminishing returns after some point], by technology, trade, or other activities such as tourism which could have capacity to make it easier for extraction of formerly expensive or hard to extract resources or by shifting the problem to other regions.

55

o The social system – the goal being to sustain institutions, social justice, and

participation.

Barrow also considers the possibility of achieving sustainable development as

requiring politically effective strategies for its implementation, while environmental

studies and economics are operating on the same wavelength.

Sustainability implies an “anticipate-and avoid”, rather than “react-and-cure”

approach to development. Although sustainable development is a very vague concept31,

its pursuit could help mankind avoid land degradation, because,

1. Temporary, unsustained development could support population growth; hardship and land degradation may ensue if production failed.

2. In developing countries, if development in an area fails, people may have difficulty moving /finding alternative livelihood/adapting to a new area – all of which can trigger land degradation

3. Incomes near the subsistence level give their recipients little margin to weather-failure and setbacks – this can lead to land degradation.

4. Lack of adequate social services in developing countries means there is little incentive to control population, because children serve as ‘security’ for parents, and little support if production fails.

5. People in developing countries are likely to be more directly dependent on the environment for survival than those in developed countries.

6. In the developing countries, alternative strategies/technologies are often untried or unavailable (Barrow, 1991, pp.30).

Some countries in the developing world seem to be trapped in a ‘downward

spiral’ of ecological and economic decline that is seriously affecting their development

pattern. This is because land degradation has far greater impact on societies that have

limited alternatives for their livelihood. When the better quality land that they used to

make a living from is no longer available, people may be marginalized and opt for poor

30 Also known as the Brundtland report. 31 Sustainable development, although vague could be an effective and powerful concept “as many other vague concepts such as liberty, equality and justice” (Timberlake 1988:61; as quoted in Barrow 1991 pp.29)., Timberlake, L. (1998) Sustained Hope for development, New Scientist, 119 (1620), 60-3.

56

quality and easily degraded land for immediate benefits at the expense of long-term

sustainability. Poverty and land degradation get into a feedback loop where one

reinforces the impacts of the other leading to impoverishment of communities and their

natural resources (Barrow, 1991).

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CHAPTER 3

METHODS

3.1 Qualitative Research

3.1.1. Qualitative Paradigm for the Research

The emerging and exploratory nature of the research, lack of conceptual or

experimental frameworks for studies related to environmental effects of landmines and

the diverse nature of the relationships between the different factors involved in study of

land degradation require the use of subjective means of analysis. This study employs a

qualitative approach as a means to finding a new way of looking at the problem. This

constructivist approach, as described by Schratz and Walker (1995), is believed to be an

accommodating tool in the endeavor to better understand the environmental implications

of the current landmine crisis in developing countries.

Qualitative research provides a better insight on real world, practical problems

when there is a lack of theories to guide the studies or when the available theories are not

mature enough to accommodate the special needs of the investigation. This paradigm is a

helpful tool for seeking meaning and better understanding for exploratory or descriptive

investigations that are concerned with process rather than outcome (Creswell 1994).

Instead of a quantitative approach that depends on extensive empirical research

with predefined theories, hypotheses and assumptions, this research approaches the

problem by posing open-ended questions that would reflect the experiences of people

who have been/are working on the issue. All the applicable and required assumptions and

theories were developed during the course of the research.

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This Masters research examines the short- and long-term costs of land

degradation to the environment and society. It identifies the environmental impacts

related to land degradation, and their implications for land use and regional development.

The research explores ways of protecting the resource and improving it from the

degraded conditions for all the stakeholders in an environmentally sustainable manner.

3.1.2. The Research Approach

The landmine crisis and its effects on society are usually discussed with emphasis,

if not sole concentration, on the harm that it causes to the physical body and the

emotional trauma that follows (Goliath, 1998). Research from the United Nations

Environmental Program and the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (1985) looked into

the environmental implications. While various researches are currently being conducted

to assess the socio-economic impacts of landmines by different agencies (the Peace

Research Institute - Oslo, the Norwegian People’s Aid and the International Campaign to

Ban Landmines, International Committee of the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch,

International Development Research Center and others) and individuals, there is still a

shortage of studies that treat the landmine problem as an environmental crisis.

Central to the theme of the study are the conclusions reached by the Peace

Research Institute – Oslo and the Human Rights Watch – Arms Project regarding the lack

of studies that put landmine problems in a broader context that considers the health of the

environment and the livelihood of the people in the region. This study is important in

order to understand the developmental challenges of war-torn societies and also to

explore the relationships of environment and development further.

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The researches conducted by Hanevik (1998), Gray (1997), Rock (1999), UNEP

and SPRI (1985) are indications that the impacts of landmines are not over with the

killing or maiming of people. These researchers and organizations called for more

research to better understand the problem and bring about effective solutions. This is a

next generation research that takes a special approach to study the impacts from the point

of land degradation and how that can affect regional development.

This study is not meant to diminish the “humanitarian holocaust” (Gray, 1997: pp.

1) that is the result of these weapons. There are few landmine-related studies that look

into the environmental implications, or specifically land degradation, as are studies that

identify the developmental impacts. In addition, focused studies that can put landmine-

related problems in a broader social and political context have also been lacking. There is

also a shortage of studies that assess and map the means by which communities cope with

the presence of landmines (Harpviken, 1999b). This study is an attempt to fill some of

these gaps and add further weight to the severity of the current landmine crisis.

Many have tried to divide the integrated reality of post-war landmine-affected

systems into smaller problem areas. However, systems of sustainable development are

built on delicate balances among their different components, which are bound together by

a number of organizational principles (Murtaza, 1998). By dealing with the problem of

land degradation that has potential to affect larger environments and populations, this

study tries to present a more comprehensive picture for identification and better

understanding of the impacts related to land degradation and their implications on

sustainable development.

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The understanding of the impacts of landmines on land resource degradation and

land use is critical to the planning for sustainable development in landmine-affected

regions of the developing world. This study will provide essential data at an appropriate

level of analysis, and a methodology that can be replicated to better inform sustainable

development policies.

One of the reasons that it has been very difficult to conduct research on the

environmental impacts till now has been the fact that not only are there so many

unknowns but the whole issue itself is an unknown, masked by so many political

agendas. The regional political ecology perspective best suits the nature of the problem

and the research questions that are posed in this study. The multi-dimensional and more

comprehensive account of the relevant factors enriches the conceptual framework. This

study may not necessarily be superior to previous attempts to explain the environmental

challenges of landmines, but the employment of this approach contributes to a better

understanding of the human-environment problem than has been possible by the

conventional models that are available in the arenas of landmine research. This research

contributes to the process of finding better approaches to securing a sustainable natural

environment upon which landmine-affected and war-torn societies can plan future

development and provide valuable information that can be used to deal with landmine

presence.

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3.2. Research Design

Qualitative communication with professionals working in different areas related

to landmines was preferred over a quantitative survey of a random sample from the

generally affected population because of the exploratory nature of the study. At this point

in time – when there are hardly any conceptual or empirical models to guide a

quantitative experiment in the issue – the quality of the data that would be collected from

the questionnaire was believed to be appropriate for identification and better

understanding of the environmental impacts and their implications on sustainable

development of the resource.

To assess the possible implications of land degradation that is caused due to the

presence of landmines on regional development and the impacts that it could have on

future actions, this research explains the developmental challenges that lie ahead for

landmine affected regions. This part of the research also looks into the adaptations of

people to live and develop in the presence or aftermath of landmine crisis.

To identify the types of land degradation that can be caused by landmines, this

research looks at the historical and potential [future] degradation of land due to the

presence of landmines, the overuse, misuse and mismanagement of land that occurs after

it. The information that is collected from this assessment is complemented by the

literature on land degradation in order to arrive at a clear picture of how landmines can

cause degradation of land.

The implications of the environmental impacts on land quality, use and planning,

the issues of people’s adaptations for survival in these situations, the risks they take,

emigration, the humanitarian assistance that they get are included. The environmental

62

impacts that are associated with these adaptations and the implications of those choices

on sustainable development are considered. This section looks at what kind of impacts

are expected on regional development in rural regions of the developing world that

depend on land for their day to day livelihood – in order to enable this study to provide

for recommendations for further research, which would expand these issues more in order

to influence policy making for the better.

3.2.1. Data Collection

To determine how some of the already identified environmental impacts of

landmines can be related to land degradation, in terms of causes, effects, processes and

etc., this research will use two methods. These include interviews with professionals in

the areas of landmine and peace research, developmental studies, environmental

toxicology, soil science, and natural disaster and relief over the phone and through

electronic mail32. The questionnaire was sent to 46 individuals, from which 21

participated in the study. Among those that participated in the survey include researchers

and professionals in the areas of environmental studies, related to: impact assessment and

war, environmental toxicology, environmental law; application to damages of war, social

researchers, Medical Doctors, humanitarian organizations (governmental and non-

governmental) involved in Humanitarian Mine Action and Victim Assistance,

International Peace Research Institute – Oslo, United Nations Mine Action Services

(UNMAS), United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research. All of the participants in

the study have conducted prior research or are working on this area. The second means of

data collection for this study was archival research for both published and unpublished

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texts including books, journal articles, reports, results of laboratory experiments, and

others. Information was collected concerning how landmines bring about land

degradation. Related questions that were posed include those that look into the

implications of land being off-limits and therefore abandoned, land degradation that can

be caused due to the destruction of soil structure, and the introduction of toxic pollutants.

Archival research was conducted to supplement the information that was collected

from the interviews and to strengthen the knowledge base on the issue. Few of the things

that are covered by archival research are identification of baseline conditions of the

affected regions; the implications of the environmental impacts on land quality, future

land use and planning; the issues of people’s adaptations for survival when faced with

these kinds of situations; the risks they take, migration, and humanitarian assistance that

is provided from different humanitarian agencies for demining and rehabilitation.

Data was collected on the professionals’ opinions of the desired planning, policies

and practices to correct or ameliorate the impacts: spatial, temporal, rehabilitation and

development considerations. The advantages and disadvantages of following the choices

on the environment were addressed too. From this information the researcher was able to

extrapolate the possible avenues for planning, policy and practices that can be used

parallel to the demining processes in landmine-affected regions of the world.

When found necessary – for clarification or when more information was needed –

follow-up questions were asked via telephone or e-mail.

32 The qualitative survey included questions that would try to get replies to the research questions, that would be based on their expert opinions, and also results of previous laboratory or field (for more on the

64

3.2.2. Analysis Procedures

In a qualitative study of this nature, analysis and interpretation of the data

collected from the survey and/or literature review is a continuous process – from the start

of the research till completion. The procedures of analysis and interpretation were

intended to give meaning to the vast amounts of information collected from the different

sources.

The nature of the study demands a combination of open-ended questions posed to

practitioners along with supporting results from prior research. During the quest for

understanding of this human-environment problem, a cognizant effort was made not to

consider every section independently – but rather to identify patterns, recognize

relationships from the collected information and aggregate the findings into relevant

categories based on those patterns, relationships and pertinent theoretical concepts. Do

the practitioners – those in the natural and social sciences – consider landmines as

environmental threats? Do they relate the socio-economic aftereffects to the

environmental impacts that many of the regions face? What about to development of the

regions? The responses for these and other questions were different for most of the

participants depending on the expertise of the practitioners and their way of describing

what they thought to be posing a greater threat.

In the conceptual basis of regional political ecology, two phases are identified for

presenting the findings – the categorization and the process phases. The ecological, socio-

economic and political factors make up the categorization phase while the

interconnections, interdependencies and implications for development comprise the

questionnaire see Appendix 4 and 5) research/experiment that was conducted by these experts.

65

process phase of the framework (Pires, 1999). The application of the conceptual

framework was slightly modified in this study and the responses, along with supporting

information from literature, were grouped into the environmental and socio-economic

dimensions of the applied conceptual framework before addressing the interrelationships

and implications on regional development. The political dimension of the framework,

that comes after the above are described, addresses the implications of the findings of this

study on management and conservation policies.

After the responses were grouped, essential measures were taken to increase

understanding and corroboration of the findings – to eliminate/reduce possible

misunderstandings between those in diverse fields or between the researcher and the

participants. The method of triangulation – a process that combines different

methodologies that can be employed in studying a phenomenon – was employed to relate

the information from the questionnaires with literature in an effort to reduce the potential

biases in the study sources, researchers and methods. This method of triangulations was

also helpful in revealing the complexities in the issue, to achieve better convergence in

data results and to introduce new perspectives on the issue/data (Creswell, 1994 and

Romsdahl, 1999).

The consolidation of the larger picture for discussions (chapter 4) and conclusion

(chapter 5) was conducted by interpreting the gathered information and triangulating it

with independent research studies. The statistical software, SPSS, was tried for different

analytical and descriptive processes but the analysis constructed no significant findings –

because of the small sample size and extensive distribution of the responses and because

there were no meaningful groups that the respondents could be grouped into. This lack of

66

significant findings does not make the research any less valid because the nature of the

research was that it was made to explore the issue from different perspectives. The fact

that there was hardly any homogeneity among the respondents (in terms of their expertise

and area of research) makes it impractical to talk about percentages of respondents that

answered a question in one way or another. The same impracticality also applies to trying

to examine relationships, measure associations in the collected data, or tests of mean –

mainly because one of the objectives of this study was to understand all the different

impacts and not the percentage of people who think one impact is more grave than the

other.

The replies to the questionnaire were grouped together and tabulated around the

research questions (by the questions in the questionnaire that addressed each research

question) and triangulated with literature from archival research. All the different

opinions, from different viewpoints and research results were considered to arrive at the

comprehensive picture of all the impacts – environmental as well as socio-economic.

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CHAPTER 4

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 General Statement of the Results

The participation of numerous intellectual practitioners and researchers in

different environment and landmine related fields greatly helped this study explore the

threats of landmines to humans and the natural ecosystem through land degradation. The

convergence of their knowledge and expertise, and also literature on different previous

experiments gives this study a renewed, comprehensive outlook on the environmental

effect of these weapons of mass destruction.

The participants of the study described their views on the environmental impacts

of landmines by recognizing that landmines pose danger to the environment in several

fashions, and the majority acknowledged the ability of ‘science’ to provide more in depth

insights into the problem and evaluation of the consequences. All of the participants

described their agreement on the fact that landmines cause particularly complex

phenomena of land degradation across different temporal and spatial scales, that can be

direct or indirect. The impact of landmines on land resource were recognized to vary

depending on concentration of mines in a unit area, the chemical composition and

toxicity of the mines, previous uses of the land and alternatives that are available for the

affected population (see Appendix 6).

When asked how the presence of landmines poses danger to the environment, the

participants of the study pointed out that the environmental aftermath can vary depending

on the objectives and methodological issues of the investigation. However, for the

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purposes of this study – for examining the effects of landmines on land degradation –

they generally categorized the manifestation of the impacts as:

o Instantaneous – includes injury and/or death of flora and fauna, destruction of

soil stability from explosion,

o Immediate – on the vicinity of the incidence, for instance, in terms of

chemical contamination,

o Protracted – population spill on non-mine affected areas,

o Persistent – access denial and

o Cumulative – loss of biodiversity and productivity.

Irrespective of the shape or form it acquires, land degradation that arises due to

the existence of landmines poses a colossal threat to the sustainability of the environment

and development of a region – especially in rural areas of the developing world – and all

but three of the participants33 agree that the problem is not localized to the mined pastures

or arable lands, and the problem is of regional and international significance.

A spectrum of variables and interrelationships were identified as significant in

studying land degradation in mine-affected regions. In accordance with the perspectives

of regional political ecology – on studying land degradation as an interdisciplinary

problem – the discussions are organized into three categories as environmental, socio-

economic and political dimensions of the framework. These three categories make up the

principal points of the framework for analyzing a multi-dimensional problem. The

interrelationships between the environmental and socio-economic dimensions of the

33 The three participants that thought the problem is local stated that the immediate concerns of toxic contamination are local, but in principle agreed that the other impacts extend far beyond the immediate localities.

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crisis and their implications on regional development are discussed before arriving at the

planning and policy making phase of the political dimension.

In accordance with the research questions that guide this study, the first question

of different forms of land degradation, is addressed in section 4.2, under sub-sections

4.2.1 and 4.2.2, while section 4.3 addresses the second research question, regarding the

after-effects, processes and interrelationships. Section 4.4 explores the implications of

these above stated impacts and their implications on sustainable regional development,

and section 4.5 discusses the quest for effective solutions by considering the current

directions and dilemmas involved and proposes strategies to lead this mission.

4.2 Categorization of Landmine Effects

4.2.1. Environmental Dimension: Effects of Landmines on Land Degradation

The participants of the study and results of archival research on how presence of

landmines in a region – whether they have detonated or not – constitutes a major

environmental problem were found to concur. The impacts of landmines on soil, flora,

fauna and their interrelationships, and how the impacts are felt at different levels to result

in severe and catastrophic stresses on the ecological system was discussed from varying

viewpoints, and it makes it clear that the impacts of landmines on land are particularly

stern on the quality of the land and its productivity. The productive ability of the land

resource is negatively altered by adverse conditions of abandonment, exposure,

explosion, mismanagement and pollution. Land degradation can also transpire indirectly

from activities that people do or adaptations that they learn/make in order to avoid areas

that are mined.

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In accordance with the findings of this study the different ways in which

landmines cause land degradation are broadly classified into five groups as access denial,

micro-relief disruption, chemical contamination, loss of biodiversity and loss of

productivity.

A. Access denial

The presence (or fear of) landmines in an area to render land off-limits and restrict

access to resources that are pivotal for subsistence and conservation activities was a

common in the response of every one of the participants. All of them agree that the most

serious environmental problem associated with landmines is access denial. Landmines

are planted to prevent people from entering a region – to secure roads, paths, military

camps and others. For their military purpose, landmines guarantee that people and their

movements are channeled away from strategically significant sites, and they also prevent

military garrisons from incursion (Millard 2000). If landmines were laid only on front

lines, the world would not be suffering as much from the atrocious effects they leave

behind. The use of landmines is not by any means confined to military establishments or

sites of military significance.

As was clearly evident from the observations of the participants in this study,

landmines are used in large quantities around arable lands (to give some examples:

Lebanon, Angola, Mozambique, Cambodia), pasturelands (Kuwait, Iraq), forests

(Nicaragua and the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea), Coastal areas

(Kuwait, Egypt), borders and nearby population centers (Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Eritrea and

Ethiopia), residential areas (Kosovo), and water sources and irrigation systems in many

more countries. Landmines deny the inhabitant population access to land that they

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desperately need for agriculture and related survival and development purposes, water

supply or conservation measures, and for technical teams engaged in pest control.

As was described by one of the participants and as she has written before, the fear of

presence of a single landmine can put an entire field out of cultivation and present a

hindrance for food production and/or sufficiency in a region (Troll, 2000). This access

denial can result in unemployment, loss of income and poverty. When landmines restrict

access to arable or pastoral lands, the people who depended on those lands are pushed to

use marginal lands/resources, or move into refugee camps or urban centers depending on

the availability of alternatives.

One senior researcher for the International Peace Research Institute – Oslo stated: by

denying access to land, landmines promote rapid and unsustainable exploitation of

resources and environment of non-mined areas by subsistence communities that lack

other economic reserves to endure hard times. When people move to ecologically fragile,

marginal lands, they exploit them and advance the land’s degradation even further

(Harpviken 2000, and Gray, 1997).

Practitioners from the Center for Environmental Law and Economic Integration in the

South and the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research expressed strong

concerns with how the declining availability of land increases the need for practicing

more intensive agricultural production systems, that include application of mechanical,

chemical or biological supplements for production on the available land or continuous

cultivation with no fallow periods.

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These practices could endanger the health of the soil when:

o Continuous cultivation with no fallow more rapidly exhausts the mineral nutrient

levels of the land – the land does not get a chance to renew, restock its mineral

constituents to past levels because the minerals are being tapped non-stop;

o Mechanical production systems, for instance the use of tractors – frequent tillage

or other mechanical planting means can either expose the soil surface to erosion

or crusting and sealing.

o The use of biochemical supplements, fertilizers or pesticides – accumulate excess

nutrients and contaminants accumulate in the ecosystem

A couple of participants addressed the issue of how restriction of access to land and

other resources due to landmines can have ‘positive’ effects when the mined areas

become no-man’s land - no anthropological interference – and the flora and fauna get a

chance to flourish and recover (Troll, 2000). Enhancement of environmental qualities –

recovery and improvement of natural resources – can result when anthropological

interference with land is limited. Formerly arable- and pasturelands in Nicaragua were

turned into forest and forests remained undisturbed after the introduction of landmines.

However, these benefits would only be realized as long as animals or tree roots do not

detonate landmines. In addition, in land of lesser qualities, if land is left fallow for long

periods of time without proper management practices, it can suffer loss of productivity –

salinization and/or over drying from water logging, by processes of evapotranspiration,

erosion, and compaction.

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B. Micro-relief disruption

Soil structure34 is one of the most essential characteristics of soil – in terms of its

appropriateness for plant growth and inherent erodibility35 (Goudie, 1994). The

participants of the study identified landmine detonation as having the capacity to cause

irremediable damage to the soils’ stability by shattering the soil structure, compaction,

displacement of soil and increasing the susceptibility of soil to erosion (Gray, 1997).

Gray identified landmine explosions as having the ability to undermine productivity

of the land spectacularly by destroying the fertile topsoil horizons O and A. The O-

horizon (organic) and A-horizon (the layer underlying the organic O-horizon,) have

relatively higher levels of organic matter and are more fertile that the lower horizons (E,

B, C, and R)36. The O and A soil horizons are fundamental to plant growth, biological

diversity and hydrological processes at the periphery between the soil and the atmosphere

(Brady and Weil, 1999).

When an emblematic 250-gram antipersonnel landmine detonates, it can create a

crater with a diameter of approximately 30-centimeters – this could be more depending

on the type and composition of the explosive37 and how many landmines detonate in the

vicinity. The explosion was described by nine of the participants as having the capacity to

cause or increase soil erosion – removal and displacement of topsoil (Troll, 2000) – while

34 Soil structure is the manner in which primary soil particles - sand, silt and clay – are arranged together into secondary particles, units or peds to form the profile of the soil (Brady and Weil, 1999). 35 Soil erodibility is the inherent susceptibility of soil to erosion (Brady and Weil, 1999). 36 Soils are characterized by sequence of horizons that include: O – slightly to highly decomposed organic matter from plant residues A – humus enriched mineral soil E – horizon of maximum eluviation of Silicates, Iron and Aluminum Oxides; also known as the leached zone B –layers of maximum accumulation of Iron and Aluminum oxides from illuviation, horizon of soil structure development C – loose substratum, zone of least weathering, and R – the bedrock layers (Brady and Weil, 1999, and Harpstead et al., 1988).

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forming a raised circumference around the crater; at the same time most of the

surrounding soil is compacted into the sides. The crater can develop into a stable element

of the landscape when runoff or wind erosion washes-off soil to the bottom of the crater.

In humid, wet periods the crater may hold water, turn into a marsh and serve as breeding

ground for mosquitoes (UNGA, 1983). The extent of the impact can vary depending on

the physical conditions of the soil; the impact is greater in dry, loosely compacted and

exposed desert soils but is less severe in humid soils that have vegetation or physical

protection.

When soil is compacted due to external forces, its resistance to penetration by plant

roots and emerging seedlings increases. Moreover, compaction influences the exchange

of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the root zone of plants and the atmosphere, and

the rate of water infiltration into the soil. A decrease in the amount of water that

infiltrates into the soil changes the moisture content of the soil and contributes to

increasing surface runoff and soil erosion (Goudie, 1994).

Five participants mentioned the adverse environmental impacts of the practices of

demining. One participant particularly addressed the issue of using the method of

detonation that affects the soil’s biochemical and physical qualities. A particularly

harmful practice reported from after the Gulf War is the use of fuel-explosive bombs38

that push heavy shock waves into the ground to cause the detonation of landmines that

may exist in a parcel of land (Troll, 2000). The wave that is created is so heavy that soil,

flora and fauna in the vicinity are adversely affected.

37 The detonation of a 250kg explosive can produce a crater 8m across and 4m deep (UNGA, 1983). 38 Fuel explosive bombs are fuel filled bombs that are dropped from the sky. When the bombs are ignited they start burning and exploding rapidly to create particularly heavy shock waves. When the wave is

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Two participants addressed the use of fires or slash-and-burn practices in

demining. As can be understood from studies in soil composition and properties, when

fires are used to clear vegetation or as a means of detonation they leave undesirable

changes in the properties of the soil – altering the amount, form and distribution of plant

nutrients in the land. During burning, the temperature of soil increases causing the humus

content of the soil to be lost at a faster rate than it can be formed. Nutrients are lost from

the soil environment by volatilization into the atmosphere and convective transfer of ash,

or when ash is lost from the soil due to water or wind erosion. Burning also causes rapid

than normal phenomena of biological decay. Some not so readily available nutrients –

like Phosphorous (P), Magnesium (Mg), Potassium (K), and Calcium (Ca) – are

converted into forms that can be consumed by plants. When a forest-covered land is set

on fire, the pH of soil increases by approximately three units and creates alkaline

conditions in previously acidic soils. In addition, burning removes the protective

vegetative cover of soils and exposes the soil to the forces of erosion, wind or water

(Goudie, 1994).

Deterioration in soil structure from explosion or compaction can be a slow and

less-noticed progression, but it results in long-term changes that have extensive impacts

on the productivity of the land – land will be more susceptible to erosion, infiltration

capacity of the soil will be affected, and the compaction can make it harder to work on

the soil (Davies et al., 1993).

pushed into the ground its enormous pressure causes landmines that are buried in the ground to detonate (Troll 2000).

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C. Chemical contamination

Although the most obvious, vital function of soil in the biosphere – as far as

human beings are concerned – is its productivity, it also serves as a geochemical sink for

chemical contaminants. In addition, the soil serves another important role of acting as a

natural buffer – to control the exchange of elements between the atmosphere,

hydrosphere and biota (Kabata-Pendias and Pendias, 1992). Although our present

knowledge of contaminants is not complete, and the effects of different contaminants can

vary depending on the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil, it is important to

discuss the issue as it relates to landmines in order to be able to complete the picture of

environmental impacts associated with mines.

Chemical contamination of landmines was mentioned by three-fourth of the

participants, while the fact that mines – after detonation – constitute non-biodegradable

waste was not addressed by any of them. Depending on density of mining per unit area,

the type and composition of the mine, and the length, amount and degree of exposure of

resources to them, landmines pose serious pollutions concerns. While addressing similar

concerns, Gray (1997, pp.3) asserted that mines pollute land with “non-biodegradable

toxic garbage” and the introduction of harmful contaminants to the environment. After

conflicts, many regions are left with a huge bulk of exploded and unexploded ordinances

that adversely affect the aesthetic quality of the area and pollute it with toxic

contaminants.

Landmines are commonly made of metal, timber or plastic casing and are composed

of “2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX or

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Cyclonite)or tetryl as high explosive filters” (Gray, 1997, pp5). When the metal casing

rusts or decays they release heavy metals into the soil.

These organic substances and the compounds that are derived from the explosives are

long lasting, water-soluble, and very toxic even in small amounts; they directly

contaminate soil, water bodies, microorganisms and plants. The compounds can leach

into subterranean waters and can accumulate in the organs of fish and in organic systems

of plants. Their effects can be mortal to some mammals and aquatic macro- and micro-

organisms – the compounds can act as a nerve poison to hamper growth and serve as a rat

killer (Organization of American States, 1999 and Troll, 2000).

Living things can consume the contamination with their drinking water, food products

or during respiration39. The Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR)

and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have voiced serious concerns on the

effects of TNT or 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene on the health of the environment and specifically

on human health. In laboratory experiments with rats, these compounds were found to be

carcinogenic causing tumors in the urinary bladder, develop serious levels of mutation in

male reproductive systems, intoxication of chronically vital organs, and skin irritation,

and can affect the immunological systems. There have also been claims that 2,4,6-

trinitrotoluene can cause congenital defects in human beings (Organization of American

States 1999).

Other than TNT, RDX or tetryl, landmines also contain additional elements

including Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Zinc (Zn), Chromium (Cr), Cadmium (Cd),

39 Consumption of the contaminants is most common during and in the place of manufacture of explosives (Organization of American States 1999).

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Nickel(Ni), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb) and Mercury (Hg)40 (Orehovec et al., 1998). These

alloying heavy metals can be transported from soil – through water, plants or other means

– to enter into the food chain of many living things and cause harm (Troll, 2000).

Soil contamination with these heavy metals is observed in the surrounding, covering

up to 6 kms of diameter around the site of the explosion (table 4.1).

Table 4.1 Average heavy metal concentrations after landmine detonation.

Element

Symbol

Average content surrounding the explosion

site Mercury Hg 101 ug kg-1 Cadminum Cd 0.45 mg kg-1 Chromium Cr 23 mg kg-1 Manganese Mn 888 mg kg-1 Nickel Ni 35 mg kg-1 Lead Pb 27 mg kg-1

(Source:Orehovec et al, 1998).

An even higher concentration of the heavy metals is found at the center of the

explosion (see table 4.2) – the site where the mine was placed and the soil churned up.

40 Iron, Manganese, Zinc, and Copper are among the micronutrients in the soil – essential elements needed in very small quantities for plant growth (Hassett and Banwart 1992).

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Table 4.2 Average heavy metal concentrations at the center of the explosion after landmine detonation.

Element

Symbol Average content the center

of the explosion Mercury Hg 280 ug kg-1 Cadminum Cd 2.22 mg kg-1 Chromium Cr 54 mg kg-1 Manganese Mn 559 mg kg-1 Nickel Ni 35 mg kg-1 Lead Pb 145 mg kg-1

(Source: Orehovec et al, 1998).

Depending on the pH level of the soil, the highest safe limits of concentration of the

metals in the soil should be less than 200-450 parts per million (ppm) for Zinc, 80-200-

ppm for Copper, 300-ppm for Lead and 1-ppm for Mercury (Aubert and Pinta, 1977 and

Davies et al., 1993). Metals are strongly absorbed by humus and lower textured clay

soils; they do not leach to lower soil horizons, and once soil is polluted with metals it stay

sos ad infinitum.

Specific contaminants have unique consequences – the effects of particular

contaminant levels of the elements depends on many complex factors of reaction between

their cations and the different phases of the soil – the solid, liquid and gaseous (Kabata-

Pendias and Pendias, 1992). When the level of contamination with these metals is high

enough, it can be very poisonous to plants and animals and reduce the yield of plants.

Lead exhibits the phenomenon known as continuum of toxicity, meaning it can be

harmful even at very small amounts, and its effects rise with increasing concentration – it

can result in kidney damage, sterility, miscarriage, and birth defects. High levels of

mercury can result in neurological disorder, manifested as lack of coordination and

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difficulty with vision, hearing and swallowing. In addition, cadmium can cause kidney

failure and osteomalacia – softening of bones and multiple bone fractures41.

D. Loss of biodiversity

Landmines can cause or hasten loss of biodiversity in a region by destroying

vegetation cover during explosion or demining and deforestation for survival, and when

myriad animals fall victims.

The impact of landmines on different animal populations was discussed by all the

participants and was considered to be a foremost environmental concern, next to access

denial. Although it is widely believed and observed that landmines kill untold number of

animals every year, this is unfortunately one of the areas where there is close to nothing

data to determine how many species or where and how they fall victim to landmines. The

very little data that is collected on the impact of landmines on animal populations –

endangered, threatened or neither – is predominantly concerned with domesticated

animal and little is known about the impacts suffered by wild animals. One of the

startling indications of landmine effects on biodiversity was recorded in the last decade,

when almost four per cent of the very rare European brown bears were killed due to

landmines in Croatia in the period between 1991 and 1994 alone (Troll, 2000). One

participant of the study thought that the vanishing of predators and/or prey, destruction

their habitat and obliterating the food chains that is caused by the presence and

aftereffects of landmines can cause disturbances in the delicately balanced ecological

system of endangered or threatened species (Troll, 2000).

41 For more detailed discussion on the effect of toxic metal contaminants, refer to Nadakavukaren (1995), Pendias and Pendias (1992) or Aubert and Pinta (1977).

81

Although it doesn’t tell much about the loss of biodiversity, some recorded examples

on the carnage of animals from landmines include – the numbers only represent a fraction

of the reality – that more than 50 per cent of Afghanistan’s livestock have been victims of

landmines (Troll, 2000), and more than 125,000 camels, sheep, goats and cattle have

been killed in Libya from 1940-1980 (Gray, 1997).

There is a recurring concurrence that most of the “biodiversity hotspots”42 (Nachón,

2000, pp.10) of the world are also severely affected by landmines – exacerbating the

effect of landmines in loss of biodiversity. Nachón referred to biodiversity data from the

World Conservation Monitoring Center and identified a large number of species that are

threatened or endangered due to many factors, including the presence of landmines (See

table 4.3) in their habitat or migratory paths.

Table 4.3. Species of living things facing risk endangerment.

Species Diversity Country No. Species Found No. Species at Risk

Vietnam Angola Afghanistan Somalia Cambodia Mozambique

9494+ 766+ 5076+ 4568+

? 6835+

434 125 53 80 62 28

(Source: Nachón, 2000).

Landmines have also been known to be used as a technique for poaching endangered

species of wildlife; like poaching tigers in Burma; one bowl of tiger penis soup, a claimed

aphrodisiac delicacy, costs around US$500.00 in Japan (Nachón, 2000).

42 Nachón (2000) uses the term ‘biodiversity hotspots’ to represent countries that are believed to have a large diversity of biological species within their borders.

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The killing of animals affects maintenance of species and the lives of rural

populations. Landmines are accused of posing an extra burden for threatened and

endangered species, pushing various species to the brinks of extinction – including the

elephants in Africa and Sri Lanka and leopards in Afghanistan. Mines have killed one of

the very few remaining mature, male silver-backed mountain gorillas in Rwanda and

eradicated gazelles from Libya (Robert and Williams 1995, and Gray, 1997).

Refugees and internally displaced people also contribute to loss of biodiversity when

they hunt the animals for food or when they destroy their habitat in order to make shelters

for themselves (Troll, 2000). The impact of killed and lost animals to the subsistence of

poor rural populations is aggravated by the fact that they usually are very important, if

not the only, means of survival and continuation. Sometimes, especially for the nomadic

populations in the low lands of the horn of Africa and the Middle East, herding of these

and other animals for dairy, meat, leather products or subsistence farming activities

makes them worth a lot. When these animal populations are the basis for livelihood

and/or economic commodities for the populations, the loss of animals can challenge local

economies.

Another impact of landmines on animals, as one participant in the study pointed out,

is the use of dogs, sheep, cattle and other domesticated animals for mine clearance

purposes. These animals are let loose in minefields as easy and fast means of mine

clearance. If these practices continue to be employed, human populations being spared at

the expense of these animals, there is no telling what kind of impact it would have on the

viability and diversity of their populations.

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Moreover, in regions where arable and pastoral activities turn out to be impossible

due to landmines, participants of the study indicated cases where forests become the last

resort for food, fuelwood and shelter. Valuable forest products are exploited by the

affected population for their new livelihood – the products of the forests, including fruits

and timber – from previously avoided sensitive, lesser quality and/or endangered

ecosystems. Deforestation can affect soil and drainage systems, water tables, coastal

mangroves and dune systems (Roberts and Williams, 1995). Landmines can also cause

slow-death of trees when trees sustain shrapnel injuries or abrasions on their bark or roots

when fragmentation mines detonate, providing an entry site for wood-rotting fungi. The

plant loses strength to combat high-speed winds and rots till it eventually expires (Troll,

2000), or wood destined for lumber becomes unsafe and troublesome with metals

imbedded in it (Westing, 1996a).

Demining operations demand clearing all the vegetative covers of land, including

forests from mine-suspected areas, usually by using fires. Such activities require clearing

of the associated litter that plays imperative roles in infiltration, protecting soil from

erosion and the impact of rain drops, and providing organic matter to bind soil particles

with each other to form a stable structure (Goudie, 1994). Destruction of vegetation cover

by landmines, coupled with deforestation and poor land management practices, can have

cumulative43 effects of interrupting local hydrological conditions of the soil – of

hardening the upper soil layers reducing water infiltration (Misak 1999) and thereby

reducing the moisture retention capacity of the soil, causing flooding and movement of

top soil, especially from relatively high slope areas. The topsoil that is vulnerable to

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erosion is transported with runoff to increase sediment load of drainage systems – this

can negatively affect fish and prawn populations (Gray, 1997).

E. Loss of productivity

In different ways, all of the participants of the study indicated that loss of productivity

of the land is a prominent problem in mine-affected regions. Land degradation from the

introduction of landmines results in a downward spiral of both soil and vegetation, where

simultaneous degradation of both the soil and vegetation forms a feedback loop where

slight degradation of soil and vegetation over time develops into extreme, to result in

pollution, low productivity and poverty (Brady and Weil 1999). As can be seen in the

modification of Brady and Weil’s illustration of increasing degradation (figure 4.1) the

low availability of land (access denial), degradation of the soil (micro-relief disruption),

combined with chemical contamination of land and loss of flora and fauna diversity all

contribute to decreased productivity of previously productive land.

43 The term cumulative effects is used to describe impacts that are compounded with each occurring impact and passing time – these are not just additive impacts or neither just those that are felt in the immediate locality.

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Figure 4.1: Increasing land degradation over time44.

Participants of the study blame landmines for being partly responsible for decreased

agricultural productivity and lowered food security in mine affected countries. As

agricultural and other significant lands are taken out of production, the socio-economic

state of affairs of the segments of population that were once self-sufficient suffers

Slight vegetativeSlight soil

Moderate soil Moderate vegetative

Severe soil Severe vegetative

Extreme vegetativeExtreme soil

Desertification, low nutrient availability

Loss of biodiversity –flora and

Reduced land

Devegetation

Pollution

Low productivity

Poverty, food insecurity and

Chemical contaminati

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(UNGA, 1994); in the absence of landmines the productivity in Afghanistan could

increase by 88-200 per cent, 135 per cent in Cambodia, 11 per cent in Bosnia and 3.6 per

cent in Mozambique (Troll, 2000).

As the participant from the International Peace Research Institute – Oslo pointed out

in the author’s communication with her and in her previous works, when people can’t get

access to their land resources because it is no longer safe to enter, they become

unemployed and wait for aid, or they are forced to make ends meet with the little land

they can get. They tend to practice intensive agriculture on the limited available lands or

move to marginal areas and cause depletion of soil nutrients. Continuous cultivation on

the available land could make the soil susceptible to forces of erosion thus making the

land resource approach, reach or surpass its carrying capacity.

Demining techniques also have undesirable environmental consequences that lower

the productivity of land. The mine action techniques require removal of vegetative layers

protecting soil to be removed, by clear cutting or burning. The techniques expose land to

different agents that can result in soil compaction and/or contamination. The fuel-air

explosive bombs and other demining techniques that employ detonation destroy soil

stability and pulverize natural ecological communities of different flora and fauna, to

render the environment vulnerable to agents of erosion. The land’s productive capacity

declines to the point of non-existence.

44 Figure is a modification of the model developed by Brady and Weil’s (1999),by the author.

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4.2.2 Socio-Economic Dimension: Effects of Land Degradation on Society

Societies suffer as a result of land degradation that is caused by the introduction

of landmines, including living with constant risk, injury, loss of income, poverty, famine

and malnutrition, migration, and humanitarian aid. Landmines pose a continuous threat to

societies and prevent them from earning and leading normal lives.

In peacetime, 100 per cent of landmine victims are civilians (McGrath, 1994). Large

portions of landmine victims are adult men that are the productive forces – bread-earners

and heads of households. When they are hurt or killed there may be no income-

generation, leaving families that depended on them to look for humanitarian assistance in

order to survive.

Farmers, nomads, herders, and returning refugees and internally displaced persons are

identified in this study as being the segments of society that are exposed to the danger of

landmines when the only choices they have are to take no risk and starve or to risk death

in trying to survive. They are forced to employ their own means of risk assessment that is

mostly based on rumors or local knowledge. Children also face a particular risk because

of their limited vision of the ground ahead and because they have a tendency to mistake

landmines for toys45. Moreover, fear of mine dangers inhibits effective control of locust

and other outbreaks; it also affects local communities by scaring away tourism and other

economic means of incomes (Hanevik, 1998).

Declining availability of land and decreased productivity of the available lands can

create social problems of marginalization of the poor, women and/or minorities. The

45 Although there is no evidence that anti-personnel mines have deliberately been made to resemble toys or other everyday objects, there is some evidence that soldiers, and maybe even units have booby-trapped children’s toys and household objects. Some mines, for example the Soviet made PFM-1 that for technical reasons is made to resemble a butterfly, do also have a special attraction for children (McGrath 1994).

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poor, women and minorities would be at a particular disadvantage in acquiring land as

competition increases, with growing scarcity. The haves and the powerful could benefit

from their soaring buying powers or poor government policies that don’t have the

capacity to enforce equity (Mehra, 1995).

Unfortunately, the nations that are being faced with the most severe landmine related

land degradation are among the least developed and poorer nations of the world; their

flimsy financial systems are susceptible to devastation. Landmines and their impacts are

added burdens to their already over-taxed economies and over-stretched resource bases.

Funds are diverted away from development; they have to take care of very large health

bills for victims while at the same time struggling to feed starving people and trying to

make available basic needs.

Demining operations are time-consuming, expensive and dangerous. The current

perspectives of Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) don’t include a long-term integrated

approach that can promote sustainable development (HRW, 1999). Moreover, HMA

programs are usually under-funded, or funded in a fragmented manner (NPA, 1999).

When the land becomes off-limits or disrupted or when its productivity decreases due

to landmines, many rural, subsistence populations are forced to live with aid from

different humanitarian institutions (Harpviken, 2000). International aid for landmine

assistance is critical, but when it is ineffectively handled it has the capacity to

inadvertently undermine local strengths, endorse aid dependency and, when aid resources

are misused it has tremendous potential to cause more impairment than good (Anderson,

1999; and Harpviken and Millard, 1999).

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Mine clearance operations can become important contributors to local economies

where people find it difficult to live without these operations. Fear of returning to

previously mined areas and an unhealthy dose of aid dependency have created problems

of underreporting in Mozambique, in an effort by the population to delay the departure of

demining teams from the area (Millard, 2000). Some demined communities have also

been accused of laying new mines in order to attract other mine action programs to their

areas (Harpviken, 1999b).

In view of the escalating donor tiredness, it is vital to look at local/indigenous

knowledge as a source of effective incremental policies (Murtaza, 1998). There is a need

to provide systematic demining and development activities and give local populations

chance to take part in them (Harpviken, 1999d).

Mine action could be doomed to fail if it doesn’t consider the knowledge and views

of the affected local communities. In addition, mine action programs need to consider the

variation of impacts and potential solutions from one region to another (Harpviken,

1999a).

Local populations are invaluable to mine action programs because they usually

develop ingenious economic adaptations and important coping mechanisms of their own

– fencing and posting warnings around minefields, serving as counselors and informal

information channels, and helping with resettlement of affected people. Because local

communities sometimes carry out indigenous mine action by their local capacities, when

there is a delay in organized demining operations or when they can’t be funded, they can

provide invaluable contributions to demining teams. In addition, when local communities

are involved in mine action and development efforts – instead of being treated as the

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voiceless victims – they may develop a sense of ownership that can increase the success

and sustainability of the programs (Harpviken et al.,1999).

4.3 Interrelationships in the Landmines-Environment Nexus

The discussions so far in this chapter illustrate the extent of environmental damage

land resources suffer from landmines and how those affect the socio-economic living

condition of people in the region. This section examines the interrelationships between

those environmental and socio-economic variables by treating them as subsystems of a

larger whole – a comprehensive system where all the interactions take place. This part of

the study follows the process phase of the regional political ecology framework and

endeavors to systemically consolidate the different variables that were identified from the

survey and archival research. In this phase of the conceptual framework the

interconnections, interdependencies and implications for development are addressed in

order to foster a better understanding of the affected environment, by recognizing how

one can affect another, and in order to demonstrate how the cumulative effects through

time can interfere with sustainable regional development (discussed in section 4.2).

Humans and the environment have an intrinsically ecological relationship (Gray,

1997), where different activities in nature are linked to any number of other activities at

varying levels. A single activity in this bionetwork can sway others by influencing the

physical setting where the other activities take place or by affecting the physical

availability of resources (UNEP, 1976).

At this point in the study it is very important to remember that the landmine crisis is

only one of many problems in the developing world, and it operates in close interplay

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with other factors that are also important in human-environment relationships (Harpviken

and Millard, 1999). Even without the additional burden of landmines, 70,000 square

kilometers of farmland, which is mostly in the developing world, are abandoned because

of environmentally degrading factors of agriculture, deforestation, overgrazing and others

(Mehra, 1995).

Narrating the rhetoric of how environment and development are particularly

interweaved in a cause and effect chain (Ramphal, 1990) becomes particularly necessary.

This chain puts landmines, environmental degradation and underdevelopment in a

triangular relationship (Suliman, 1999), where each angle has a causal impact on the

others (see figure 4.2).

The triangular representation in figure 4.3 demonstrates how difficult and

complicated environmental (also individual and socio-economic) effects of landmines

can be. It is meant to show how the variables in the different corners of the triangle are

related to each other, and the impacts one can have on the other to pull people and the

environment into a vicious cycle of destruction.

By conveying destruction of soil’s stability, and the resulting compaction, sealing,

abandonment, devegetation, by altering the biochemical composition of the soil medium,

by affecting biodiversity and by delaying management and peace efforts, landmines result

in degradation of the environment. In addition to putting people in great danger, this

degradation also interferes with development of regions by creating different socio-

economic problems for the affected population – loss of income, poverty, migration, and

social marginalization. When this happens many regions receive international aid from

different humanitarian agencies for demining and rehabilitation. Although the intentions

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and conditions of aid provision are not being questioned here, many times we observe

that aid that comes to save the people has the potential to create more problems of

underdevelopment – as aid provision, usually when it is provided in certain ways that fail

to consider the real causes of the problem and the needs of the society – and has the effect

of fostering aid dependency. Underdevelopment results in the simultaneous degradation

of societies and their natural resources. Natural reserves are exploited at a faster rate than

they can renew themselves and marginal resources – that were previously avoided for

being inferior to the resources that they managed or because they were sensitive – are

degraded by populations that try to survive with what is available. These environmental

and related socio-economic hardships can lead populations to more conflict over the

scarce resources and, in extreme situations, has been suspected to drive populations to

mine cleared areas in order to attract aid (this issue is discussed in detail in the political

dimension of the conceptual framework, section 4.3).

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Figure 4.2: Triangular relationship between landmines, environmental degradation and underdevelopment.

Politico-military, environmental, and socio-economic problems caused by landmines

are also interrelated (Gray, 1997). The many environmental and socio-economic impacts

of landmines have the capacity to cause acute resource scarcity that can drive people to

LANDMINESDestruction of soil stability Soil erosion Pollution Abandonment Devegetation Soil nutrient availability Soil compaction and sealing Continuous militarization D l f ff tSoil

Flora Fauna

Socio-economic hardship

Exploitation of natural reserves Degradation of marginal resources Aid dependency

DEGRADATION UNDER DEVELOPMEN

Living with constant riskLoss of income Poverty Famine and malnutrition Migration Societal marginalization Humanitarian aid

94

desperate actions for survival that may cause long-term, or even permanent, damage to

the environment that they live in (UNEP, 1976).

Poverty is a prominent cause of environmental degradation. When day-to-day

survival becomes crucial, communities have little luxury to think for the long-term; they

are pushed to think and live for the short-term. When communities are left with few

options, they are pushed into using, and abusing, marginal and very sensitive lands, and

thereby accelerating the resources’ degradation. By denying communities freedom of

movement and access to their natural and economic resources, and destroying the

environment, landmines create particularly brutal and exacerbated ecological and socio-

economic problems. What would individually be considered as rational behaviors and

actions of people that make sense for those on the brink of survival; bring about a

collective boisterousness – tragedy for the commons46. This problem does not arise

because of ignorance or stupidity, but rather because circular processes of desperation

and lack of choices lead to abandonment of rational, sound practices of resource use and

management (Ramphal, 1990).

After explosions, landmines degrade land and render it unusable for years and

generations to come (Gray, 1997). Especially in the developing world where the stakes

are much higher for food and survival (Paarlberg, 1994), landmines can limit land to

bring harsh and lethal consequences; people are pushed to take risks, migrate or exploit

what little is left in their very sensitive environment.

In most cases, land users/managers are aware of the inherent abilities and constraints

of their land, and they develop systems of use that minimize the problems associated with

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the quality of their land and changes due to variation in climatic or other conditions.

When these populations are forced to move to other areas, with varying qualities and

constraints, their traditional resource-management systems can prove to be unsuitable or

inadequate leading to inappropriate land use practices of excessively intensive47

cultivation, overgrazing and deforestation in the mine-free lands (Kibreab 1996). Refugee

populations usually have the dream of returning home and the settlement areas are

perceived as temporary; they usually strive to make the best out of the time they stay

there, and they don’t think about long-term investments or effects - in more than a few

instances these places continue to be the only homes they can get/afford.

The killing of fauna and destruction of their habitat threaten ecological stability and

can drive populations to extinction. The mostly unmarked landmines leave populations

crippled and in fear; they hamper rehabilitation and post-conflict reconstruction. Changes

brought about due to the introduction of landmines can have detrimental impacts on local

development when they permanently affect human or animal populations. When

landmines prevent populations from returning to their previous lands after displacement,

and when they cause damage to the soil, they acutely interfere with ecological

sustainability. In addition, these undesirable changes can have an effect on animal

populations; for example, minefields on migratory paths of some terrestrial animals can

cause death or injury to the animals. After a large number of elephants perished in the

minefield of Southeast Asia, others learned to avoid that area, instead moving into

46 ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ was a term used by Microbiologist Garrett Hardin in 1968 to describe the exploitation of common pool resources (commons) resulting when their common ownership makes unlimited exploitation rational (Hardin 1968) 47 Intensive cultivation refers to excessive cultivation; too frequent cropping without allowing time for fallowing, or rotation. It indicates excessive use of fertilizers, or baring land through overgrazing or removal of crop residues that could improve the quality of soil and availability of nutrients by decaying and protection from the impacts of raindrops (Kibreab 1996).

96

agricultural areas they previously avoided – causing crop damage in their newly acquired

migratory paths, which has also led to local people hunting the animals to prevent further

damage.

It is important to note that the changes that are being brought about by landmines,

like many human impacts to the environment, are irreversible; when the soil is eroded

from an area and when species of plants and animals are being driven to extinction, there

is little that can be done to reverse the situation and save them. Even in those cases where

the change might not be completely irreversible, after disruption of soil stability and

destruction of vegetative covers, it takes a very long time for the land to regain its

inherent qualities.

4.4 Implications for Regional Development: Development With Landmines

and in the Aftermath

Development as a concept is multidimensional, encompassing environmental,

economic, social, cultural, and political aspects of nature’s inhabitants. Development

aspires to achieve betterment while intelligently utilizing available resources (UNEP

1976). The relationship between environment and development is two-way, in which one

has the ability to influence the other.

Landmines change the natural environment in so many ways and make it hard, if

not entirely impossible, for societies to achieve development that they could have

attained without that threat. Regardless of who laid the mines and for what purpose they

were planted, landmines promise to be impediments to development for a long time to

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come. And to make matters worse, the options and alternatives for landmine affected,

war-ravaged populations in the developing world are extremely limited (Suliman, 1999).

Land degradation can affect regional development at many varying levels. By

shattering the capacity of the environment to provide needed raw materials for

development (Troll, 2000), landmines have become prominent contributors to

impoverishment of societies and underdevelopment. Landmine presence and fear and/or

impacts of mines can destroy the basis for development in mine-affected countries by

endangering people and livestock, and impeding use and progress of land and

infrastructures respectively (Westing, 1985). Landmines become great impediments to

the sustainable development of the local economy when many aspects of local

development, including the construction of roads, power lines, and irrigation systems,

become equally hampered (Westing, 1996a). Landmines also divert development efforts

– money and resources that could have been used for development efforts – for demining,

and humanitarian aid for affected populations, in order to deal with the crisis. By the

above means landmines create poverty, unemployment, high cost of scarce and needed

products and migration, and prevent the delivery of services – peace efforts, health care

and municipal services – that are important for societies’ livelihood.

The assault of landmines on the environment and efforts for sustainable

development of developing countries is particularly severe because most of the affected

regions are ill equipped to deal with the threat (Kibreab, 1996). In the developing world,

environmental degradation has been observed to be both the cause and consequence of

conflicts – environmental management is pivotal to ending conflicts and to ensuring

sustainable development (Ghebremedhin et al., 1989). Large tracts of land are mined in

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many struggling nations, with 8.9% of the arable land of Libya (Nachón, 2000) and 5 %

of the entire land area of Eritrea (Ghebremedhin 1997) mined at one time or another and

off-limits for production.

Although specific reasons can vary from one country to another, impacts of land

degradation on development in many developing countries is generally exacerbated by

factors including:

o There are more mines but less means and resources for demining,

o The economy is largely dependent on agriculture and other subsistence

practices, and the mines are laid on the lands necessary for these activities,

o Increased need and competition for use of the available resources leads to

even faster degradation,

o Development practices do not properly include the lands’ capability and other

environmental considerations,

o There are conflicts [social or other] over limited resources.

In order to deal with the environmental impacts of landmines in a regional

political ecology and development context we need a complex organizational architecture

that includes demining, humanitarian assistance, ecologically-based environmental

management and long-term comprehensive plans that incorporate sustainable resource

development. Comprehensive planning is a critical necessity in landmine-affected areas,

because the reality of those areas is made more complex through fear and near total

destruction of their natural resources and economies. Forgetting the environment in

landmine assistance policies can be an error that can undermine sustainable development

(Troll, 2000).

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Sustainable development in landmine-affected regions is unattainable unless we

are able to look beyond the personal harm and emotional trauma and recognize the extent

of the crisis. In order to plan for sustainable development, we must be able to clearly

identify and understand the impacts. Comprehension of the complex factors, their

linkages and interconnections in different resource systems – bio-physical, socio-

economic and political – is critical to the success of policies intended to achieve

sustainable development. (Smith-Sreen, 1992) In cases where the important interaction

between mine action and development were neglected, and when there is a lack of

coordination between different agencies or institutions that govern development, the

immediate and long-term impacts of landmines can be very detrimental (Harpviken et al.,

1999).

4.5. Political Dimension: Implications on Management and Conservation

Policies

After discussing the environmental and social impacts of landmines on land

degradation and addressing the interrelationships to determine how they affect

sustainable regional development, this section of the research addresses the fourth

research question regarding the quest for effective solutions that can alleviate the

environmental problems caused by landmines. This section considers the processes of

developing alternative management and conservation policies, including constraints that

can arise and the significance of well-informed and inclusive decision-making processes.

Many of the problems in the developing world, including the landmine crisis, need

the gathering and analysis of data and indigenous knowledge regarding ecosystems,

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resources’ quality and availability of land, and other attributes of the environment in the

search for effective policies, during the planning processes and making policies for

development. Such information is essential in order to prevent unsustainable exploitation

of resources, and in understanding the dynamics between appropriate lands and proposed

uses (Nelson and Knight, 1985).

Landmines represent a fundamental obstacle to development in war-devastated

regions; they pose long-lasting problems for the environment and sustainable

development. As a result of factors including their enduring legacy, their destructive

environmental impacts, their long lifespan and because when people live with landmines

they are living with constant risk, there is a critical need for special policies to deal with

the crisis in a larger developmental context (Harpviken, 1999b). Planners and policy

makers, who assume the leading roles in processes of change and redirection (Tickell,

1990) of efforts for the desired purposes, might face problems in converting sustainable

development into policy to govern actions that can convey many hard to answer

questions, including uncertainties and disagreements in environmental valuation (Solow,

1992).

Care should be exercised when governments – local, national or international – are

planning and making policies to deal with the situation. Actions, policies or aid provision

patterns that create the improper exploitation or depletion of readily available, mine-free

resources are essentially unsustainable. There need to be efforts that try to find better

ways for the people to fit into the ecological systems without radically changing them

beyond recovery – to seek some optimal level of use corresponding to the highest safe

exploitation of natural resources and to understand the capacity of the affected population

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to adapt to the changes (Allen, 1998). Progression to sustainable living and development

in landmine affected regions will require a fundamental re-orientation of a number of

prevailing and familiar research and decision-making tools. The fundamental requirement

for sustainable development will be integration of the environment in economic, social or

other decision-making processes (MacNeill, 1990). For best results, governing decisions

need to recognize the agenda for understanding the unusual needs of people and

environment affected by landmines and promoting collaboration at local and upper levels,

with proper local participation (Tickell, 1990).

While undertaking or planning to undertake demining and clearing operations, actions

that could be taken to correct or ameliorate the impacts of landmines on land and other

indirect consequences include environmental management – proper management of land

resources including rehabilitation of degraded areas and protection/conservation, and

promoting environmental awareness, monitoring and sensitivity – and trying to

understand the tolerance limits of the land in order to prevent abuse of resources, and

deforestation. Management actions can have the capacity to increase productivity of the

land; these actions have the potential to put land back into production by enhancing its

resource potentials, improving its quality and promoting sustainable development.

In an ideal world, one could implement intensive demining projects to prevent

impairment of people and the environment. However, not only would this be hard, but it

is also unlikely. Almost all of the countries don’t have the financial and resource capacity

to handle the crisis, and there are limitations in demining techniques. What we consider

the most effective demining techniques are those that are manually operated by human

beings –very slow processes that put deminers in great danger.

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In addition, despite the fact that demining operations are largely

anthropocentric, other complicated monetary and policy issues in landmine impacts

management include whether funds would be dispensed for local handling of demining or

managed with external/international assistance. In cases where nations take control, the

military arms of governments may be given the task of demining, and it would be

probable for environmental and developmental considerations to take a backseat to

technical demining projects. In the other option, cases where international NGO’s are

responsible for demining, there is a potential for problems of not recognizing local needs,

no long-term developmental objectives, and costly expenditure of funds earmarked for

development on bringing in their ‘experts’. Moreover, international assistance is

governed with many agendas, all of which might not be for the best of the affected people

or resources; aid usually comes with short-term objectives, and many “donors are only

too happy to provide high protein fish powder instead of teaching the [a]ffected people

how to fish;” the way things are going lately, one has to wonder if that is their

humanitarian mission (Sichone, 2000, pp.2). The operations of outside entities could be

disengaged from one another or other activities that are important in dealing with a crisis

of landmine proportions, in situations where different goals would be handled in an

isolated manner.

Many individual and institutional analyses are required to arrive at progressive

contextualization of environmental management in landmine-affected regions. Blaikie

(1989) and Biot et al. (1995) proposed a trajectory of analysis to achieve this objective.

This trajectory of analysis was modified for the purposes of this study and was found to

be an interesting tool to be considered during planning and policy making (see figure

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4.3). The trajectory outlines an alternative, potentially effective process of policy

making. Instead of viewing the trajectory as providing one-way, local to international,

direction for developing appropriate policy responses, the trajectory is made to recognize

systemic interrelationships between the different policy makers and decisions at different

levels – local, national and international. When the symptoms are understood at micro or

local levels and the problems identified accordingly, the matrix (box on top, far right

corner) can be developed at local and national levels to address the most pressing and

relevant issues. This trajectory identifies environmental changes that were introduced due

to landmines, biophysical and economic costs, and contribution of land users and socio-

political structures to arrive at which level international cooperation would have the

greatest effect in socio-economic and environmental governance. For example, the

national governments (at the socio-political nature of governance box) can communicate

the information from local populations to higher level agencies capable of providing the

help, of the local government doesn’t possess that capacity. The international agencies

could in turn provide the assistance in the forms of education, providing relevant and

needed information, and monetary funds to implement land management strategies at

local and/or national levels.

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Explanation of the phenom

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105

As the actual levels of land degradation are hard to determine, as are the exact types

and levels of solutions. One way to look at degradation prevention would be to use an

economic method. As far as economics is concerned, the optimal level of land

degradation48 repair/prevention is likely to be the point at which marginal cost of

repair/prevention of the landmine consequences is equal to marginal benefit from

repair/prevention (Barrow, 1991).

There may be many difficulties related to the land degradation problem in landmine-

affected developing countries. Not only is there an inadequate technical basis for

understanding and managing land degradation, but also managing land degradation is

only one of the many priorities of the governments and societies, which have to deal with

day to day problems of political instability, economic constraints, food insecurity,

building and reconstruction, and development in general. There are bound to be delays in

recognizing the existence of the land degradation problem and formulating the necessary

policies, for two reasons. People – especially economists and higher level decision

makers - are usually conditioned to looking at economic indicators49 of development and

they only notice environmental/resource depletion issues when they are translated to

more visible forms50 of land degradation that are readily apparent, and, second because

48 Optimal level of land degradation is one of the classifications of land degradation that are given by Barrow (1991, pp.11); the author classifies rates of land degradation as: (a) Zero rate – where there is no land degradation; (b) Natural rate – rate of land degradation in the absence of human activity; (c) Actual rate – rate of land degradation given current land management; and (d) Optimal rate – rate of land degradation corresponding to socially optimal resource allocation and

management. 49 In this study, the term ‘indicators’ represents bio-physical/natural or socio-economic/human phenomena and signs that provide a way to measure, define, characterize or explain the situation of a resource. For example, a natural indicator can be the rate of erosion of topsoil while a human one could be the effect crop yield suffers as a result (for more on indicators see Flagg (1996) or Hammond et al. (1995). 50 The more visible forms of land degradation include the rapid loss of soil by erosion, dust storms, formation of deep gullies, land slides and others that create a rapid and major threat to human wellbeing (Barrow 1991).

106

admission of having a land degradation problem could be viewed as a

farmer/landowner’s fault or personal weakness that s/he should hide (Barrow, 1991). All

the above constraints exist in addition to imperfect governmental structures that involve

”individual or collective ignorance, incompetence and corruption” (Eden, 1996, pp.14).

The performance of governments, relevant funding or non-governmental organizations is

critical, if not the only factor, to finding solutions to land degradation.

Policies aimed at landmine crisis have traditionally focused on demining, refugee

repatriation and, at times, reconstruction. The nature of landmine impacts and their

complexity call for incorporating environmental considerations in policies aimed at

managing the landmine situation or any kind of environmental conservation policies.

There is a critical need to go further for an inclusive approach of ecodevelopment (UNEP

1976), the concepts of which stress looking for a tangible development plan that

advocates ecologically sound recovery and management of resources in the biological

system.

A couple of the participants in this study indicated the potential of many international

humanitarian and environmental declarations and guidelines - although they have yet to

be employed and their enforceability is difficult – that have clauses that indicate or can

relate to environmental damage from landmines. They stated – in the survey, and

Ashtakala (2000) and Nachón (2000) – different declarations and principles including:

o The Stockholm Declaration – from the 1972 United Nations Conference on

the human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden – which in its 21st principle

makes states responsible for ensuring that activities within their jurisdiction

and control do not cause damage to other states and their environments;

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o The principle of Limitation – dictates that the right of human beings, be it states

or individuals, to endanger the environment is not unlimited. This principle can be

valuable in defining reasonable, proportional or militarily unavoidable/necessary

effects of warfare;

o Principle of Preventive Action – requires states to take proper actions to ensure

the protection of the environment during wartime, before any damage has

occurred;

o Polluter Pays – requires the polluter, in this case the producers and/or those who

laid the landmines, to bear the expenses of rehabilitating the environment after

damage and ensure that the environment is returned to an acceptable state.

It might not be possible to protect the direct and intended victims of landmines,

human beings and animals, by these principles, guidelines and protocols because the

mine is produced to serve that exact purpose. However, indirect victims of landmines,

such as agricultural land and development, can employ the above stated principles, rules

and jurisprudence of international environmental law to recover reparation against

landmine producers (Ashtakala, 2000 and Nachón, 2000).

In addition, decision makers at different levels have varying perceptions of land

degradation and the needed responses. This divergence and lack of coordination between

the different actors can encourage escalation of environmentally degrading activities and

prove to be a solemn hindrance to triumphant mitigation of the problem and the path of

sustainable development (Dejene et al., 1997)

By guiding development policies for landmine-affected regions with thoughts of

ecologically conscious development, one can produce a diverse array of policy

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alternatives that can realize the full potential of the natural endowment and maximize the

benefits that living things get from it (UNEP, 1976), without obliterating the natural

resource base upon which sustainable development depends.

Development policies for landmine affected regions need to be robust, comprehensive

and flexible to adapt to varying conditions in the ground (Harpviken, 1999a).

Management and conservation policies should have the important task of understanding

the special needs of landmine affected communities and environments (Harpviken,

1999c). The policies need to employ an integrated approach and adapt a global, holistic

viewpoint (Bruchhaus, 1999).

Biot et al. (1995) recommend a matrix for research, planning and policy formulation

for land degradation that accommodates for review of existing approaches and

development of a multi-dimensional and holistic model. The matrix, as modified to fit the

objectives and scope of this study (table 4.4), invites pluralistic interpretation – from the

viewpoints of all the actors (local, national and international) involved in the process –

and promotes understanding of the relationships between scales of study and elemental

components of decision-making processes.

The rows in the matrix represent stages in a decision-making process, while the

columns are the different levels where decisions are made. Perceptions of the symptoms

of problems are assessed from the viewpoints and concerns of the different actors, and

also accordingly diagnosed and prioritized to fit their needs. The search for solutions,

along with the technicalities and feasibilities of the proposed actions, including the cost-

benefit analysis and risk identification and acceptance are also considered at the three

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levels of analysis. Collaboration among the different actors is ensured before decisions

are made to adopt one alternative action or another.

Table 4.4 Levels and elements in decision-making.

Levels of Analysis

Elements in decision making

Local National/ Regional

International

1. Perception of symptoms

2. Diagnosis of causes

3. Prioritization of needs

4. Identification of solutions

5. Assess technical feasibility of solutions

6. Cost-benefit and risk solutions

7. Assess need for collaboration

8. Decide about adoption

(Source: Biot et al., 1995)

Assistance to mine affected populations and its guiding policies need to be able to

discover the gaps between local land users and policy makers, and also between relief

and development aid. After evaluation of the impacts, the required management and/or

conservation policies need to comprehend local realities, understand the needs of local

populations, and as much as possible, be able to finance and execute ventures in

accordance with the local communities’ priorities and mandates (Bruchhaus 1999 and

Dejene 1997).

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CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Summary: Regional Political Ecology and Landmines

Findings from this study emphasize the argument that impacts of landmines are

not only personal and localized, but also significant on a regional economic and

ecological scale that have serious implications regarding the developing world. This

research endeavors to demonstrate how landmine impacts that are primarily

environmental are results of a set of multifaceted and interconnected political, and socio-

economic factors that are also protracted. Landmine use, that is at best considered

unchivalrous, but a practical necessity, and at worst not a means of war but rather murder

(Croll, 1998), can threaten the fragility of the natural environment by changing the

quality and cover of land, and through abuse of biotic resources and habitat destruction

(Batterbury and Forsyth, 1999).

This research identified and characterized different ranges and assortments of

biophysical and socio-economic indicators for land degradation that results from

landmines, including:

o Biophysical – soil structure and texture, rate of soil loss/removal by erosion

per unit surface area, sediment loads into streams, nutrient levels in the land,

soil porosity, soil moisture holding capacity; proportion, diversity and

productivity of vegetative covers; habitat destruction; and flora and fauna

diversity per unit surface area

o Socio-economic – loss of income, food shortage, poverty, vulnerability,

change in population per unit surface area, increased social polarization,

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declining health care, migration/displacement, destruction of essential

infrastructures, arresting of development of regions, and socio-political

instability

Resource decrepitudes resulting from landmines provide an ideal illustration of

land degradation that is principally a product of human choices and decisions; they

exclusively make land less useful or not useful at all. Findings from this study illustrate

the relationships between land degradation and development that can be used as a basis to

promote integrated and sustainable policy initiatives. These findings emphasize the need

for recognizing the extensive environmental degradation that is caused by landmines and

adopting large-scale, inclusive approaches facilitating constructive ways to alleviate the

landmine crisis.

This study doesn’t allege there is a blueprint for development (Salomon and

Lebeau, 1993) in mine affected regions, but rather presents how impacts of landmines in

the developing world have transcended purely socio-economic and intrinsically

politicized debates to bring about ecocide. One needs to recognize the heterogeneity of

the problem variables and the environment (Dahlberg, 1994) in mine-affected regions.

Degradation of land resources, coupled with uneven allocation of renewable and non-

renewable raw materials (Westing, 1985), undermines not only agricultural productivity

but also livelihood, rehabilitation, sustainable development and security of many regions.

The inextricable nexus between protection of environmental resources from degradation

and development – sustainable development – has become difficult especially for areas

with mine degraded land resources, because of the continued environmental stress (Okidi,

1994).

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Findings of this study emphasize the need for broader planning consideration and

objective analysis of requirements of affected communities, and this research also

supports the principles of transfer of capacity to affected communities and avoidance of

inadequate quick-fix solutions (HRW, 1999). Interjurisdictional cooperation should be a

top priority because the problem is not likely to be confined to a locality; it spills over to

neighboring regions, in terms of natural resource abuse and migration. In addition;

consistency at all the necessary levels, cooperation and coordination need to be key to the

plan for the overall good – to decrease the amount of time and resources that are wasted.

It is very important that all stakeholders understand the choices the community and

governments face and reach some consensus about how these choices will be made. The

central goal of the national government should be to foster systemic and collaborative

planning processes at the state and local levels (Burby, 1998). The local

leadership/administration has to play very decisive roles in order to manage these

situations: guidance, help in cooperation, planning and implementation. Planning for and

managing land use enhances sustainability and reduces vulnerability to further

environmental catastrophes.

Depending on the findings of the study and approaches discussed in prior research

projects, this study reinforces the need for collaborative research and policy making51 that

includes:

o Identification and recognition of the carrying capacity of the resources;

o Articulation and detailed problem identification and ranking among public

and environmental agendas;

51 More detailed discussion on the practicalities of policy solutions to land degradation problems is available in Chisholm and Dumsday (1987:335)

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o Enhancement of the ability of regional populations or states to address the

issue – including organization structure, resources, feasibility of policy

formulation and implementation – and external assistance and/or pressures

(Chisholm and Dumsday, 1987, pp.335).

Regional political ecology, as a conceptual framework, responds to the challenge

of landmines by offering a comprehensive and multi-dimensional reflection of the

complex crisis. This study demonstrates the capability of a regional political ecology

framework to create order in chaotic and complex environmental problems. The approach

allowed the study to reveal interconnections between the different sets of variables. It

exhibits potential to provide better understanding of multifaceted problems that elude

comprehension from unilateral, analytical approaches.

This study provides a better understanding of how environmental and

developmental policies for landmine affected regions need to foster a systemic and

collaborative planning process at different local, national and international levels (Burby,

1998) in order to promote, or enhance, sustainability. The successful policies need to

include a proper and balanced mix of local and comprehensive planning, citizen

participation and support, international and interjurisdictional cooperation, and

consistency – internal, horizontal and vertical.

The regional political ecology framework further enriched this study by

permitting the analyses to build-upon previously collected data and conceptual

frameworks.

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5.2 Challenges Ahead

This study is a next generation approach to the landmine crisis and shows promise

for the future. But despite the potential excellence of the regional political ecology

framework in helping to achieve the objectives of this research, there appears to be little

optimism that this problem will be solved anytime soon. The significant need for further

analytical refinement at micro- and macro-levels is recognized. The framework requires

that practitioners and researchers set standards that can be applied in different micro-level

case studies (Pires, 1999).

In order for a study to ascertain past, present and/or future land degradation, one

needs the utility of the land to be established for the different periods. There is need to

examine patterns before and during war to determine the specific, measurable ways in

which mines have degraded land and disrupted development. The challenge that faces all

land degradation studies is reliance on received information - the present is hardly ever

well-acknowledged while past and future forecast are likely to be inaccurate estimates

and may not give true indications of the potential productive abilities of the land (Barrow,

1990).

The foremost challenge in developing better policy responses to the crisis is scope

of planning – how to narrow the mind gaps between local and international agencies

involved in assistance in order to promote long-term, comprehensive planning horizons

that look beyond the humanitarian dangers of landmines and view them as developmental

challenges that need developmental responses. Other challenges include development of

standard indicators for the environmental and socio-economic dimensions of the

landmine crisis and more explicit use of comparative approaches – across regions, across

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countries, and across institutions and agencies (Harpviken et al., 1999). Moreover,

enlightenment of decision makers at all the different levels and finding appropriate ways

of aid provision are of great importance, because there are the issues of technical and

fiscal capability at local, regional and national levels, and willingness to accept and

implement such new policies.

5.3 Limitations of this Study

The unique nature of this study presents some limitation to the research process.

First, enlightenments and justifications in this kind of study are contingent upon

interpretations of the researchers. Second, the broad perspective of the study’s

framework, although one of its desirable and outstanding qualities, makes it challenging

for an individual researcher to tackle the issues alone – its interdisciplinary nature would

be best served by cooperative efforts of those in the natural and social sciences.

Qualitative research, with subsequent empirical follow-up, is best conducted over

extended periods of observation; the approach taken in this study has benefited by

tapping into the knowledge base of professionals while referring to previous studies for

data. By being a qualitative research, however, this investigation is not purely objective.

Subjectivity in compiling the research tools – although an essential element of the

approach – can predispose the study to certain levels of criticism.

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5.4 Recommendations for Future Study

This study has been a valuable learning experience that has potential to be a very

useful tool with which to demonstrate environmental problems of landmine affected

areas. The approach needs to be tested in specific case studies after key indicator

variables are identified and developed for specific regions. This could facilitate

development-oriented, better management practices in war-devastated countries facing

the aftermath of wars.

Mines are just one of the many environmental and socio-economic problems of

people in developing countries – along with such grave issues as poverty, environmental

degradation, population pressure, malnutrition and conflicts. Moreover, many

consequences similar to the aftereffects of landmines can arise due to other reasons too.

Future studies need to be management-oriented in their approach and also recognize the

ecological or socio-economic realities as they apply to their specific study sites. The

nature and continued existence of these massive problems make it essential to develop a

comprehensive understanding of the basic causes and potential remedies for these

problems (Murtaza, 1998). Effective planning and policy in these areas will require

thorough bio-physical and socio-economic investigations in order to scrutinize the

varying problems of different regions and countries. Moreover, continuous monitoring of

the impacts of landmines and ranking of the prevailing problems has to be an important

component of the management models – at micro and macro levels – in order to present

an accurate representation of the reality and help in the development of policies aimed at

reducing land degradation, while maintaining or enhancing the developmental potential

of the people and their resources.

117

In the future, landmine studies that employ the framework of regional political

ecology can greatly benefit if they not only adopt interdisciplinary approaches from

individuals but also a team-oriented, collaborative approach involving professionals from

the natural and social sciences. The silence of environmental organizations has given the

impression that poor subsistence farmers and their families in developing countries do not

greatly matter as part of the environment. The collaborative involvement of scientists

from both the natural and social sciences in studies regarding landmines can help in

exposing the environmental atrociousness of these weapons and to push international

environmental organizations to take action against the growing threat of landmines with

the same dynamism with which they have pursued the fights to save the tropical

rainforest and whales from harm (McGrath, 1998), before the situation gets any worse

than it already is.

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5.5 Concluding Thoughts

The researcher’s experience in studying environmental and developmental

impacts of landmines has been a personal encounter with an emerging field of study from

which I have attempted to gain a better understanding of one of the worst problems

facing the world today, through this research process.

The environmental impacts of landmines represent a class of human-environment

problems that can be referred to as ‘no technical solution problems’52, which require

long-term strategies to sanction change in attitudes, education, and the institutional

foundation of the biological system (Hardin, 1968 and Singh, 1994). Complex and

difficult situations are bound to appear in the paths of development of landmine-affected,

war-devastated developing countries. And the success of regional political ecology in

helping to alleviate the landmine crisis remains to be seen in the future. However, the

perspective does show that the prospect is not all grim and hopeless; landmine affected

nations don’t have to be doomed for misery forever, but rather there is hope for the future

with properly planned and inclusive efforts.

No matter how small and localized, or massive and globally significant, the resources

that are affected by landmines are, the search for the best system of management should

embrace interdisciplinary, situation-specific, community based, long-term, collaborative

and comprehensive approaches to develop appropriate problem solving alternatives. The

institutional and cultural barriers between policy-makers, researchers and resource users

need to be narrowed. The management strategies need to be innovative to shift greater

52 A technical solution problem may be defined as one which requires a change in only the techniques of natural sciences, engineering and technology, demanding little or no change in human behaviors, values and morality; for instance, erecting fences to prevent overgrazing (Hardin 1968).

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management responsibility for development onto the end users53. An outstanding

attribute of comprehensive and collaborative systems of resource management and

development is that when they work, the self-imposed rules become shared norms that

most people adhere to because they believe they are doing the right thing. Moreover, the

suitability of the developed alternatives should be investigated and the appropriate

alternative chosen by including theoretical reasoning and empirical evidence.

Considerable revision is required to redirect the attention of planners and decision

makers, at all levels, towards the protection of the unmanaged commons of landmine-

affected regions, because they are governed with the implicit directive ‘help yourself’,

that can prove to be precarious for everyone involved (Gardner and Stern, 1996), both

nature and resource users. Whatever the management regime, planning framework or

policy decision, finding effective resolutions for even a few of the impacts of landmines

on land degradation and other environmental problems can relieve tremendous pressure

from the overworked, overtaxed local, national and/or international institutions to be

directed towards environmental protection and development efforts.

In order to tackle the landmine crisis in the most effective ways possible, we humans

will be required to employ such extensive studies of interdisciplinary nature in search for

approaches of better understanding, planning and construction of policy decisions. We

also need to continue learning how to better understand the relationships between human

actions, environment and development.

53 Bentley (1994) recommends this approach of promoting more respect and understanding between researchers and resource users in an effort to endorse shifting of development responsibility directly into the hands of the users.

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Appendix 1

121

Figure 6.1 The Most Common Types of Antipersonnel Landmines

Type 69 Type 72

M14

M16A1

M18A1

Valmara 69

VS-50

PP-MI-SR

MON-200 PMN POMZ-2

PMD-6

Source: Canete 1995. http://is7.pacific.net.hk/~asiabox/landmine/common.htm

122

Appendix 2

123

Table 6.2 Descriptions of Blast and Fragmentation Mines

Types of mines Blast mine54s Fragmentation mines Laid at Surface or

subsurface Above ground, usually supported on stakes or attached by mounting brackets to man-made structures, trees and undergrowth.

Triggered by Direct pressure Tripwire Directional – hold pre-formed metal fragments located in an explosive charge that are projected in a pre-determined arc of about 50 meters.

Types

Bounding – rely on strewn fragments to be harmful. A propelling charge elevated the mine to stomach height before the main charge explodes, permitting a wide area to be covered by its contents. They are particularly lethal.

Popular models Soviet-made PMN, PMN-2 and United States made M14.

United States made M18, M18A1 claymore and Italian produced Valmara 69.

(Source: HRW 1993, and Lloyd, 1997).

54 In the case of blast mines, the blasting of the mine casting, dirt, gravel, surrounding vegetation and even the victim’s footwear usually cause secondary injury to the victim (HRW 1993).

124

Appendix 3

125

Countries Worst Affected By Landmines

Under normal circumstances in the US, a country that does not have a landmines problem, the rate of amputation is 1 per 22,000 people.

Figure 6.2 (Source: One World 1999).

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Appendix 4

127

Landmines as Sources of Land Degradation: The Case of the Developing World

Dear Sir or Madam: Greetings, My name is Asmeret Asefaw Berhe. I am a graduate student at Michigan State University. I am conducting this survey as part of the research for my Masters research. I am studying the Environmental Impacts of Landmines, specifically how landmines can bring about land degradation and the potential effects that can have on regional development. You were selected to be a participant in this survey because of previous studies that you have conducted in relation to this issue or your professional background. I believe that your participation could greatly contribute to the knowledge base of the research and the understanding of this issue as a whole. I would like to ask you to help me conduct this research project by participating in this survey. It will only take less than 45 minutes. Please fill the questionnaire to your best knowledge and e-mail it back to me at this same address [berheasm@msu.edu]. You may be assured of complete confidentiality. Your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law. No identifying information will ever be associated with any of your answers in any reports. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary, you may choose not to participate at all, may refuse to answer specific questions or withdraw your participation at any time. If you come across any question that you don’t want to answer, please leave it blank and proceed to the next question. You indicate your voluntary agreement to participate by completing and returning this questionnaire. If you have any questions regarding your rights as a human subject in this research you may contact the chair of University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects, Dr. David Wright, at (517) 355-2180. During the course of this survey, you will encounter questions related to the environmental impacts of landmines, land use and sustainable development. If you find out that you can not answer some of the questions because they are outside your field you can leave that question and go to the next one. And if you have suggestions that deal with the already mentioned issues or if you think there are further issues that need to be included in this study please don’t hesitate to state them at the end of the survey. If for any reason you wish to contact me, you can reach me at berheasm@msu.edu, 1312A University Village Apts.; East Lansing, MI 48823 or by calling (517) 355-6172. If you would like to receive a summary of the report results, please send me a separate e-mail to the address given above and I will be delighted to provide you a copy. I know that your time is very valuable and therefore I would like to thank you very much for taking the time to be part of this research; your contribution is greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe Graduate Student in Resource Development Michigan State University Respondent Code: _______________

128

Appendix 5

129

Questions Please answer the following questions to the best of your knowledge. 1. a. What are the different ways that landmine presence in an area can pose danger to the

environment? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ b. How can these dangers affect the lives of people that are living in the landmine-affected areas? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ c. How can these dangers affect the development of a landmine-affected area? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

2. a. What kinds of indicators of land degradation55 are observed in landmine affected areas? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ b. Please specify your replies for question (2) a., as they would apply to the following: Arable lands? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Pasture lands? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Forests? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Infrastructures (roads, bridges, electric and water supply structures, waterways [irrigation canals])?

55 What do we see in these areas that tells us that the productivity of land has decreases due to the introduction of landmines and impacts associated to them, these could be physical or social indicators? For example, in terms of decrease in the fertility and productivity of agricultural or range lands, destruction of soil structure, toxic contamination, loss of income, and others.

130

___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

Or other land uses [if applicable]? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ c. Are those effects felt only on the immediate locality, or also outside that area? (Do some of the impacts result in environmental or other related problems outside the immediate locality?) ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

3. Please list areas that you think landmines are usually found in. (if possible use the groupings

of arable land, pastures, forests, infrastructures [roads, pathways, bridges, electric and water supply structures, waterways [irrigation canals] ]. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

4. a. In terms of the groupings that are used in (3), which ones do you think pose the most threat

to the people in terms of their survival? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ b. Which ones do you think would have the most effect on development56 of the regions? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

c. Why do you think that is the case? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

5. a. What adaptations do people make in order to be able to live and develop in the presence of

landmines? [in terms of migration, use of marginal lands, change production patterns, use of forest products, taking risks to use the resources or others]

56 For the purposes of this research ‘Development’ is defined as expanding or realizing potentials to gradually bring to a fuller, greater or better state (Daly 1994).

131

___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ b. What environmental impacts do you think would be associated with these adaptations? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ c. When people stay nearby, what adjustments do they make in their use of other resources? [for example, in terms of utilizing forests, marginal resources, etc.] ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________ d. If they migrate, where do they usually tend to go? [For example, to other rural centers to engage in farming or other land based activities or to urban centers] ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

6. What environmental impacts of land being off-limits57 are observed? (in terms of land

quality degradation, productivity, income that was derived or depended on the land and the community that depends on those lands) ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

7. How are local communities usually involved in demining or other developmental efforts in

landmine affected regions [in terms of participation and contribution]. Please give examples. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

57 In the case of landmine presence, land being off-limits, means that people or animals cannot get access to the area because it is feared or known to be landmine-infested.

132

___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

8. Do you know of any environmental effects of the activities of demining? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

9. How do you think correctional/ameliorating actions should be taken to reduce the impacts to

the land resource (reduce or at least slow down land degradation)? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

10. What advantages and disadvantages, as far as land is concerned, are associated with these

correctional and amelioration actions? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

11. How do you think these environmental impacts of landmines are exacerbated in the cases of developing countries?

___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

12. What do you see as being the most prominent problem associated with environmental

degradation that is caused from the presence of landmines in an area/region? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

133

___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

13. Suggestions or comments

___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

~~~ The End ~~~

Thank you.

Please return completed questionnaire to berheasm@msu.edu. [Preferably as a word document attachment] or mail it to 1312A University Village Apartments, Michigan State University East Lansing, Mi. 48823 USA

134

Appendix 6

135

Table 6.2 U

nprocessed Responses from

the Questionnaire

N

o. Q

uestion y to the question

Additional com

ment

or information

1.a LM

presence can pose danger to the environm

ent by

1. loss in w

ildlife … killing anim

als [livestock and wildlife], destruction

of their habitat 2.

micro-relief disruption from

explosion … destroy the flora/fauna

3. soil erosion…

can change the landscape and cause more erosion

4. decrease in productivity of agricultural areas

5. chem

ical residues,…. environm

ental pollution, soil contamination …

during self explosion or dem

ining (can cause severe soil, vegetation and hydrological degradation)…

Can be m

ade of toxic substances. 6.

denial of land use for a.

agriculture or other subsistence purposes ….

b. A

ccess to water or conservation m

easures c.

For technical teams engaged in pesticide control/spraying

7. overuse of non-affected areas …

overgrazing, over farming…

because m

ore people less land would add pressure to the environm

ent. Ex due to refugee com

ing 8.

the mine free areas people m

ove to avoid LMs m

ight be more fragile

and hasten environmental degradation

9. LM

s threaten/seem to m

ostly affect fauna that are big enough to trigger landm

ines …. These fauna m

ay have symbiotic relationship

with local flora, helping to keep certain plant species in check

10. when explosives and shells of m

ines are used for fishing, mining

[coal, gold…] or for land clearance they have bad environm

ental results/consequences

Landmines can pose a danger for the environm

ent in several fashions, depending only on methodological issues for research. B

roadly speaking landm

ines effect can be imm

ediate, prolonged, continued and/or cumulative. Landm

ines may affect som

e or all of an specific environment

components. Science can only provide w

ith insights on how to approach such im

pacts and how to evaluate its consequences. In general,

environmental im

pacts of landmines present researchers, or decision m

akers with an extrem

ely complex phenom

ena, which varies on intensity,

concentration, danger and toxicity in a case-by-case manner.

136

1.b LM

pose danger to people 1.

posing a threat to their lives … injury prevents them

from earning

money and living norm

al life .. LMs restrict the m

obility of people and anim

als 2.

loss of income

a. prevents people from

cultivating their land, therefore, decrease in food production leading to fam

ine … increased

rate of poverty b.

involution – natural resources are consumed but not replaced

c. killing of their livestock

3. flooding, desertification upset the ecological balances leading to disease of flora and fauna, and ultim

ately humans

4. negative socio-econom

ic impact

a. m

igration with no/little m

oney, no work

5. threat for w

ildlife 6.

injury/death to cattle and other beasts of burden, change in migration

patterns of animals they hunt for food or their prey that hum

ans use for

7. people living in the vicinity of m

ined forests face risk during harvest of forest products and loss of incom

e 8.

intensive agriculture 9.

denial of pest control measures results in outbreaks of locusts or birds

leading to famine and denial of access to w

ater resources

--cause a confidence deficiency on populations living on affected/suspected to be mine affected areas.

---deny opportunities for re development

--deny areas for cultivation—

creation of new pressures over forest resources, clearing of forest for new

agricultural land--- affecting social services which m

ay lead to a degeneration on life quality levels and disease

--liberation on the environment of toxic substances, som

e of which m

ay bioaccumulate and be persistent possibly show

ing negative impacts on

the health of future generations. Lead is a case in hand. Many landm

ines contain lead. High levels of lead on the hum

an body cause a decrease on IQ

therefore diminishing creativity, reasoning ability and lately productivity. A

ll of this can be measured w

ith proper studies.

137

1.c LM

affect development b/c

1. no one w

ould want to build or m

ake any kind of investment in m

ine affected areas

2. decrease or loss of productivity plus disablem

ent … becom

es hard to m

ake a living ex. contamination w

ith residues and waste

a. polluted agriculture, land can't be used for agricultural purposes due to dorm

ant mines

3. threat of landm

ines prevents people from com

ing back to their lands after they have escaped w

ar ….. abandonm

ent of resources 4.

changes brought about by the presence of LMs m

ay have detrimental

impacts on previous local developm

ent. Ex. a boundary minefield on a

national border crossed an elephant migration route. After quite a

large number of elephants perished in the m

inefield, others learned to avoid that area, instead m

oving into agricultural areas they previously avoided. C

ausing crop damage and has led to local people

hunting animals to prevent further dam

age 5.

loss of income

6. loss of access land use, forests, infrastructure – leads to poor farm

ing, poverty and affect trade and transportation in the region

retarded or abandoned developm

ent altogether

--no confidence on returning populations --som

etimes m

ine affected areas can not go back to their function prior to the conflict putting away prior efforts in capital and hum

an investm

ents --the obvious toxic effect on land quality

--sometim

es negative environmental im

pacts are accentuated with m

ine clearance (depending on the technique used) 2.a

Indicators of land degradation in LM

affected regions

1. destruction of soil structure

2. erosion: loss/rem

oval of top soil (most fertile)

3. toxic/soil contam

ination w/ toxic or hazardous chem

icals 4.

loss of income

5. loss of productivity

6. displacem

ent 7.

overgrowth of fly or pest com

munities

8. loss of flora, fauna …

biodiversity agricultural productivity per unit of surface/land hum

an population per unit of surface/land

Land degradation can occur indirectly from

activities w

hich take place to avoid areas w

hich are mined

138

biodiversity levels per unit surface area levels of toxics and heavy m

etals on land levels of toxic and heavy m

etals on irrigation 2.b.1

In arable lands 1.

fertility depletion (micro-level)

a. rem

oval of topsoil [erosion] 2.

all in 2.a 3.

lie fallow

In Central A

merica

arable lands have been im

proved by the presence of m

ines 2.b.2

Pasture lands 1.

deterioration of vegetation 2.

all in 2.a 3.

unable to be used

Pasture lands are protected and therefore im

proved by LM but

severe damage occurs

during demining

2.b.3 Forests

1. m

icro-relief disruption 2.

all in 2.a 3.

not harvested

Forests improved in LM

affected areas, ex. N

icaragua 2.b.4

Infrastructure [roads, bridges, w

ater supply structures, w

aterways(irrigation

canals)]

1. declination for all hum

an activities and development projects

2. destruction of structures ..

3. overgrow

th covers roads, canals etc. 4.

inside houses were m

ined in Kosovo

Therefore loss of incom

e and productivity

2.b.5 O

ther land uses D

eserts a.

destruction of fragile soil and plants

(2) Arable and pasture lands m

ay return to forest Forests m

ay remain undisturbed by hum

ans and some anim

als after the introduction of landmines

Any com

binations of these (2.b.15) can be observed … it depends on the political sources and circum

stances of the conflict and the purpose of m

ining in the region 2.c

Do these effects result in

environmental or other

related problems outside

the imm

ediate locality?

1. yes both on and off-site …

. Directly on site and indirectly offsite …

…

all impacts reverberate throughout w

orld, but most keenly felt locally

2. displacem

ent is a regional problem

3. toxic contam

ination is localized but can affect any number of people

living anywhere if they are exposed

4. degradation can have effects that are felt locally and outside the im

mediate locality

It depends on what

and where the m

ilitary purposes at the tim

e of m

ining was

if they affect m

igratory patterns or cause erosion

139

5. --yes, landm

ines may m

ove in space. Either by floods, wind,

downstream

. This is about direct effects. But w

hat about indirect effects as shortages of grains or other cultivars due to dim

inished areas for cultivation due to landm

ines?

and flooding that affect other areas

3 A

reas LMs are usually

found in 1.

Arable lands – Central A

merica, South Lebanon

2. pastures – Sinai, K

uwait, Iraq

3. forests – N

icaragua 4.

coasts, near wells or other w

ater bodies – Kuw

ait, Egypt 5.

border areas – Vietnam

, Zimbabw

e 6.

infrastructure [bridges, roads, electrical and water supply sources] –

Kuw

ait, Zimbabw

e 7.

desert areas,

All of them

, depending on w

hat the source of resource of the com

munity is

4.a A

reas that could pose the m

ost threat for people’s survival

Depends on m

odes of survival 1.

arable .. in agrarian comm

unities 2.

infrastructure [canals, roads, water sources ] …

in comm

ercial com

munities

3. forests

social infrastructure, roads, bridges hospitals, schools, playgrounds

Forests will probably

count less in economical

terms

4.b M

ost threat on developm

ent 1.

infrastructure, …roads, canals .. building of a new

major north-south

highway w

as hindered due to LMs in V

ietnam

2. arable

3. forest

4. pastures

it really would depend on the region affected. Is it an affluent society or a poor

comm

unity? Is it on the mountains or is it on flat land? It depends on the case.

Dem

ined roads couldn’t be used in M

ozambique

because there was no

money to restore them

4.c W

hy 1.

infrastructures are the base for development program

s and They have the heaviest concentration of people using them

2.

people’s lives and incomes depend on agriculture, forestry or fish

3. w

ater no longer available for many purposes: consum

ption, energy, irrigation of crops and livestock

People’s daily lives [m

eals] and income area

affected

140

All m

ines laid affect the people and their ability to survive or develop. Regardless of w

ho lays them for w

hat imm

ediate gain, their long-term

life ensures that they will be an im

pediment to survival and developm

ent for a long time.

All of them

can or can’t have impact for survival and developm

ent, it depends on the region …. If they can w

ork around the mine situation

[reroute activities] they do, unless that is difficult People tried their best not to let the dem

iners go because they lives became dependent on them

… M

ozambique and C

ambodia

5.a A

daptations C

an depend on factors other than mines, m

ines don’t operate independently C

hange in habits depends on the environment, the local options available and

local security conditions 1.

migration .. urban or rural areas, internal relocation sites

a. other previous unused lands,

b. other types of practices on other lands

2. m

igrate to urban centers for cheap and dangerous jobs in the city 3.

use of marginal lands and forests [they use the next available

resource] 4.

some prefer to stay and live w

ith mines .. risk loosing a lim

b for grass, firew

ood, hunting etc. 5.

demining is not a quick task [vapor is the one fast w

ay] people have to find w

ay to live with LM

s, accomm

odate them …

they are forced to find alternative lands, roads or activities depending on the area

6. M

ozambique had enough land so they m

oved to non-mined land

7. in C

ambodia land is relatively scarce and there w

as no land they could go to so they stayed

Some m

igrate but most

stay and take risks [in using affected land] because they have no choices

_for example it is know

n that in Afghanistan in order to clear landm

ine affected areas they may sacrifice their ow

n sheep. Some kind of anim

al m

ine clearance. Sadly, the need of the many is som

etimes used to enrich the few

via corruption over administration and expenditure of

humanitarian dem

ining international funding. Case at hand C

ambodia

5.b Env’tal im

pacts of adaptations

1. hum

an pressure on new areas w

hich in time leads to degradation

2. m

igration – increased pollution and waste

3. degradation of land due to use of m

ore pesticides that could be toxic in order to grow

more plants on sm

aller areas … soil erosion,

overgrazing,. Deforestation, overcultivation,

4. -soil use changes

-increased pressure over natural resources -increased social polarization w

hich may create conflict over such

Decreased land

productivity

141

resources and generate conflict 5.c

Adaptations of people that

stay near by try to adapt to the changed environm

ent 1.

optimal use of natural resources ..

a. clearing land or

b. change in production patterns

2. appropriate patterns of land use

3. find other w

ays of income generation ex. labor w

ork, small business

or local market place

4. deforestation of nearby unaffected areas, slash and burn agriculture of unaffected fields

5. people learn to live around landm

ines. A social adjustm

ent. Losing a fam

ily mem

ber to a landmine becom

es usual.

5.d M

igrate to where(usually)?

it depends on what is available, their capacity and opportunity but usually

1. other rural centers

2. people w

ant to go to a place where they feel safe. A

lthough in occasions, against popular belief, they stay

In general, people have lived in areas, which are m

ost environmentally friendly to them

. The areas they move to, w

hen necessary, are usually m

ore marginal and therefore m

ore fragile. If they move deeper into forest areas, it m

ay cause further forest loss and decrease habitat for other creatures. 6.

Env’tal impacts of land

being off-limits

1. environm

entally…. It w

ould eventually return to its natural state a.

enhancement of environm

ental quality b.

improvem

ent of natural resources [potential] c.

environmental recovery

d. degradation of non-m

ined areas because of increased/intensive production

e. decline or loss of land productivity

2. socio-econom

ically a.

loss of income – because of com

plete loss of productivity b.

poverty c.

crimes

decrease in agricultural output, decrease in incomes and consequently of

142

local economy, soil erosion

7 Local participation in dem

ining and development

efforts

1. as counselors, help in indicating location of landm

ines 2.

help with resettlem

ent ex. prioritization .. on cleared areas 3.

lead deminers to safe trucks or gaps in m

inefields 4.

maintain –fix fences around m

inefields and post warning signs

5. trained as dem

iners… they also dem

ine by themselves w

hen there are no resources for dem

ining teams to com

e to the areas [esp. if they have been com

batants before or if soldiers had thought them how

to

There have been cases w

here animals are used

as a system of

demining.

8 Environm

entally impacts

of demining

1. rem

oval of the armour protective layer protecting the underlying

fragile soils … cutting of all vegetation[at tim

e big old trees], som

etimes even burning it

2. soil degradation – com

paction, contamination, disturbance,

disturbance of soil structure during detonation .. . leading to erosion. D

etonation [explosion while the m

ines are in the ground] is harmful at

d/f physical and chemical levels

3. vegetation degradation

4. loss of biodiversity

5. increase of dusted sand in open desert areas

6. overuse of m

ined areas

There is no one perfect solution …

whether you

leave them in the land

or whether you detonate

them the productivity of

the land decreases

Yes, dem

ining activities can be equally bad for the environment, or even w

orst. But then again it would depend on the policy m

aker’s objectives. D

o you want to turn a m

inefield into a garbage dump? O

r into an industrial site? Or w

ant to return it to agro production? All these

factors should be taking into account. This is a matter of environm

ental costs. I doubt environmental costs are integrated into dem

ining costs as usual practice 9

Correctional/am

eliorating actions to reduce the im

pacts on land

1. environm

ental managem

ent – mgt of land resource, rehabilitation of

degraded areas, protection/conservation 2.

measures for proper land use, environm

ental awareness

3. m

onitoring resources, environmental changes application of advanced

technologies 4.

try to reduce cutting down forests [big trees] and aw

areness to make

the public and environmental activists understand

5. including tree planting, gardening or other environm

entally beneficial program

s with m

ine clearance and rehabilitation programs

6. optim

al use of demined areas

143

7. C

omply w

ith local environmental norm

ativity, if any. Otherw

ise go for international norm

ativity. Be creative w

hile planning demining

operations. 10

Advantages and

disadvantages of correctional and am

elioration actions

1. enhancem

ent of land resource potential 2.

improvem

ent of environmental quality

3. sustainable developm

ent 4.

reforestation keeps land away from

agricultural production

These actions can make

access to land possible again, i.e. increase productivity but at the sam

e time they slow

dow

n demining

operations and prolong land degradation

11 Im

pacts exacerbated in developing countries because

they become m

ore severe because 1.

there are more m

ines but less means and resources for dem

ining 2.

economy usually based on agriculture…

mines laid on the soil that is

necessary for cultivation 3.

increased competition or need to use the available resources leading to

faster degradation with associated harm

by any development practice

4. further degradation [loss of productivity] and loss of incom

e 5.

conflicts [social or other] over shortage of resources … ex. land that is

at a premium

in countries like Vietnam

6.

the structures are already weak/fragile and further im

pact with

sophisticated weapons and violence becom

e debilitating 7.

post conflict developing countries have many problem

s [social, econom

ic, political and environmental] including infrastructure

destruction, health care, politics [flaky governments, contradictory

conservation policies] ….. environm

ent is way dow

n in the list even in the U

S/1st w

ord let along 3rd w

orld 8.

They don’t have the tools or know-how

to identify or demine…

thus m

ore death and destruction…

9. increased dependence in South on agriculture and subsistence living, w

ater in desert regions comes m

ainly from w

ells 10. B

y poverty, lack of an environmental perspective w

hile planning, corruption, short tim

e vision.

Can vary from

country to country these are just the m

ost comm

on points

144

12 M

ost prominent problem

associated w

ith environm

ental degradation due to LM

s

- restricting/denial of access to resources .. especially for returning ID

P or refugees

- loss of anim

als and livestock … especially for anim

als with m

igratory patterns, disruption in their pattern or the anim

als can learn of the dangers and avoid the area …

decrease in biodiversity -

Disruption of usual sustainable patterns by rural com

munities in

relation to their environment as a result of w

ar and landmines.

- Loss of land and crop productivity …

…food shortage and poverty

- Poor people pushed into lands and forced to subsist in crow

ded conditions in already degraded land

- Increased pressure over forest resources. D

estruction of habitat 1.

arable a.

fertility depletion during demining operations

2. pasture

a. degradation of vegetation

b. loss of biodiversity

c. soil disturbance during dem

ining 3.

forests a.

deterioration of grasses, shrubs b.

soil disturbance

145

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