General mine action assessment (GMAA)

For new programs, the planning process typically starts with an overall assessment of the country situation. This assessment uses largely secondary sources, for instance, existing information provided by agencies and organizations familiar with the area and the contamination. If requested, multi-disciplinary assessment teams will deploy to the country to validate and update existing information, and to determine at first hand the scale and impact of the landmine situation. The country assessment will determine whether a national mine action program is required, whether such a program is possible or what other action should be undertaken. It may also define the scope of additional information gathering requirements. A national or ‘general’ survey of contamination may follow.

Surveys

Landmine impact survey

In order to obtain a better picture of the contamination and its socio-economic impact on communities, many countries request a Landmine Impact Survey (LIS). A LIS is a lengthy and thorough process which aims at providing a detailed and reliable report of the impact of mine- and ERW contaminated areas on local communities. ‘Expert opinion collection’, which takes place over several weeks in-country, helps to narrow down the communities to be surveyed. Visits to local communities narrow (or expand) the list further. The community survey process uses specially trained teams to gather demographic, contamination, social and economic data in every community suspected to be affected. Using a scoring system that is amended in-country using national input to take account of local conditions, a priority listing classifies communities as having heavy, medium, low or nil mine or UXO impact. Sampling is then conducted for false negatives and additional community surveys conducted as necessary. The results of the survey are typically entered into the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database for the country.

Technical survey and area reduction

The GMAA and LIS typically provides a small number of high impact communities that could constitute the basis for a short- to medium-term operational plan. But the survey does not verify or mark and map the precise outer limits of the contaminated areas. For this reason, a technical survey has to be carried out. In accordance with IMAS, "the primary aim of a technical survey is to collect sufficient information to enable the clearance requirement to be more accurately defined, including the area(s) to be cleared, the depth of clearance, local soil conditions, and the vegetation characteristics".

The output of a technical survey may also include perimeter marking to reduce the risk of unintentional entry into the hazardous area, normally as part of a comprehensive mine risk education program. If clearance does not immediately follow a technical survey, then survey markers are left securely in place, enabling the hazardous area to be located accurately and safely at a later date. The reduction of suspected areas (area reduction) is typically undertaken using machines, mine detection dogs or deminers using electromagnetic metal detectors. All available methods require specialized and well-trained personnel.