Landmine Monitor 2004 Report on UXO in Vietnam

Was just reading this to send to a reporter and thought I would share it here. This comes from the LANDMINE MONITOR's online edition.
Vietnam, Landmine Monitor Report 2004

Vietnam is heavily contaminated with unexploded ordnance from the conflict in the 1960s and early 1970s, as well as smaller quantities of bombs and mines from other conflicts. Minefields exist from as long ago as the Dien Bien Phu campaign against the French in 1954, extending through border conflicts with China and the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. BOMICO now maintains that as much as 20 percent of Vietnam's land surface, a total of 66,578 million square meters, is affected by unexploded ordnance (UXO) and landmines.[20] This represents a substantial increase from previous BOMICO estimates of 7 to 8 percent. No reason has been given for the change. The Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) has cited Ministry of Defense sources as stating that three million landmines remain in Vietnam's soil,not including UXO.[21] Official sources cite figures ranging from 350,000-800,000 tons of war-era ordnance in the ground.[22] All 61 provinces are affected, particularly in the center and south of the country, though there are significant mine action programs in only three of the most affected provinces (Quang Tri, Quang Binh and Thua Thien-Hue).

The scale of the UXO and landmine problem was most severe in the late 1970s and early 1980s, immediately after the conclusion of the war. However, new discoveries of ordnance were reported in 41 out of 61 provinces in 2003.[23] The Ministry of Defense states that the most affected portions of the country are the central provinces from the former DMZ southward, including Quang Tri, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai.[24] Historical records of US combat activities housed at BOMICO, provided by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, allow for a ranking of provinces by total number of air-dropped ordnance, largely bombs and cluster munitions.[25] The most common types of UXO are BLU-26/36 cluster bombs and M79 40mm grenades, which are together responsible for 65 percent of injuries since 1975.[26] The Boundaries Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in May 2003 that despite significant clearance in the 1990s, landmines remain a serious problem on the Chinese and Cambodian borders. Few mines but many UXO are found on the Lao border.[27]

Survey data shows that residents of Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces have encountered landmines and UXO most frequently while gathering firewood, farming or tending livestock, and near homes.[28] Up to 35 percent of local land in Quang Tri cannot be used for cultivation or settlement.[29]

Few of the UXO/mine-affected areas are marked, even with local materials such as bamboo sticks.[30] Survey results in Quang Tri province indicate that only 33 percent of subdistricts contain marking signs, and 92 percent of survivors report that the areas where their injuries occurred were not marked as dangerous.[31] In some cases, maps of minefields are not available, or locations have shifted due to floods, landslides and erosion.[32]

Workers on the Ho Chi Minh Highway, running through affected areas near Vietnam's western border, have found tens of thousands of UXO since 2001.[33] New sections of the highway in central provinces are attracting migrants from lowland areas who are engaging in small-scale farming or opening shops. As migrants clear and explore previously unused land near parts of the former Ho Chi Minh Trail, they will encounter UXO and landmines.

Reports from central and southern Vietnam describe a sharp increase in scrap metal collection and bomb hunting in areas that have not been cleared since the war.[34] Most searchers do so not by choice, but for lack of economic alternatives; few have any training in ordnance disposal.[35] Scrap metal collecting is a legal activity in Vietnam. Possession or use of explosives, however, is not. Fines and prison terms have been imposed on explosives dealers and fishermen who have hoarded large quantities of UXO, but enforcement of the law remains sporadic.[36] Inquiries in Quang Tri province confirm a thriving cross-border scrap metal trade into Laos. As long as no explosives are involved, the import or export of metal and metal detectors is legal.