Quang Tri (VNA) -Vietnam and the US have been working together for a number of decades already toclear away unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from the war, which has provento be fruitful, especially in central Quang Tri province - the area in Vietnam mostcontaminated by UXO.

The two countries are celebrating 25 years of diplomaticties on July 12 this year and 2020 also marks the 25th anniversary of PeaceTreesVietnam, the first US non-governmental organisation (NGO) licenced to operatein UXO search and clearance in Vietnam.

Members of its mobile UXO clearance team inQuang Tri’s mountainous Dakrong district have increased from 36 in 2003 to 106at present, including some of the local Pa Ko and Van Kieu ethnic minorities.

PeaceTrees Vietnam is ramping up efforts tocomplete clearance next year in areas of Dakrong blighted by cluster bombs.

Across Quang Tri, PeaceTrees Vietnam has combedmore than 480ha of land and disposed of over 112,000 UXO items.

It has also carried out community activities suchas providing healthcare and clean water for local people, presenting over 2,000scholarships to students suffering from UXO accidents, and planting tens ofthousands of trees in areas already cleared of UXO, which will help withenvironmental restoration and people’s livelihoods.

Meanwhile, RENEW, a cooperative programmebetween Quang Tri and foreign NGOs, and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) have implementedthe RENEW-NPA project in the province since 2001. Sponsored by the USDepartment of State and the UK Department for International Development, theproject aims to restore the environment and address the consequences of war,especially UXOs.

In mid-June, RENEW-NPA deployed to the area nearthe beach of Thai Lai hamlet in Vinh Thai commune, Vinh Linh district, which isheavily contaminated by UXOs, especially cluster bombs. The hamlet has recorded15 UXO-related accidents since 1975, killing five and injuring 11.

RENEW-NPA said it has located and safelydetonated 23 cluster bombs and hundreds of items of explosive materials in the area,noting that UXO clearance will provide a safe environment to more than 870local residents and allow for farming activities.

After five years, in June, the project finished anon-technical survey in all areas it was permitted to access, equal to 76percent of all hamlets and villages in Quang Tri. It interviewed more than51,000 people to collect information relating to cluster bombs and other typesof explosives.

RENEW-NPA said the non-technical survey is oneof the most important steps in creating an overall map of areas polluted by clusterbombs in Quang Tri, thereby helping local authorities and relevant parties buildeffective UXO search and clearance plans.

Golden West Humanitarian Foundation, another NGOfrom the US, has also funded Quang Tri with nearly 95,000 USD to carry out aproject providing technical advice, training, and capacity building cooperationin post-war explosives detection and clearance.

The project is to improve knowledge about explosiveshandling for two UXO detection teams at the Quang Tri Military Command, helpupgrade necessary equipment for their training and task performance, and set uprotational teams.

Up to 82 percent of Quang Tri’s total area iscontaminated with UXOs, which have killed more than 3,430 people and injured5,100.

Over the last 25 years, programmes and projectshave assisted Quang Tri with about 80 million USD to detect and clear UXOs,including nearly 40 million USD from the US Government via NGOs.

The province used to report about 70 UXOaccidents each year, but the number has fallen sharply since it begancooperating with foreign organisations to carry out UXO detection and clearancein 1995. Notably, 2018 was the first year without UXO accidents in Quang Tri.

The province aims to become the first Vietnameselocality to be free of UXO incidents by 2025, and it will need about 10-12million USD each year to that end.

US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink saidthe two countries’ cooperation in UXO clearance has proven successful, saving alarge number of lives and millions of square metres of land for economicdevelopment, and his country pledges to continue settling the consequences of war./.