UXO LAO

THE UXO PROBLEM: IMPACT OF UXO

The Lao Government recognises UXO contamination as an ongoing development challenge in the country. UXO contamination continues to threaten the physical safety, livelihoods, and food security of people in more than 25% of villages in Lao PDR. It is a cross-cutting issue and affects the aim of the Government to maintain rapid economic growth in order to improve the living conditions of the poor, graduate from least developed country status by 2020, and meet its Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

UXO is an identified cause of poverty. The National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) in 2003 states that there appears to be a significant correlation between the presence of UXO and the prevalence of poverty. Some of the most UXO contaminated communities are also among the poorest in the country. Its presence causes food shortages in affected provinces as it limits agricultural production expansion and villagers’ ability to achieve sustainable livelihoods. Many of the poor and vulnerable groups in remote rural communities face the dilemma of risking life and limb in tampering with UXO, or continuing living in impoverished conditions. Any kind of development program taking place in UXO affected areas (road building, school construction, or tourism development) are at risk from UXO and require substantial extra resources for UXO clearance.

UXO clearance contributes to the Lao Government’s poverty eradication program, the Government’s aim of exiting the least developed country status by 2020, and meeting the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Such large-scale contamination resulted in almost 12,000 casualties since 1975, and rendered vast amounts of land rendered unusable. The countrywide UXO Impact survey conducted in 1996 found that 25% of the total number of villages are affected.

THE UXO PROBLEM: UXO IMPACT MAP

IMPACT ON DEVELOPMENT

The National Socio-Economic Development Plan of the Government of Lao PDR states the apparent significant correlation between the presence of UXO and the prevalence of poverty. Poor districts are most often the ones impacted by the presence of UXO. UXO impacts food production, infrastructure development, water and sanitation facilities, school, and hospital extensions.

IMPACT ON AGRICUTULRE

Low population density means in some areas, communities can choose to leave affected land alone. However, given the country’s population growth of around 2.7 percent, there is pressure to expand food production on contaminated land.

IMPACT ON NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM

Lao PDR remains among the least developed countries in the world. As such, the hospital and health network is still basic. UXO accidents require a high level of care and attention, and consume valuable health resources from a system already burdened from a population that suffers high rates of malaria and other diseases.

IMPACT ON FAMILIES

UXO directly affects the victims of accidents and the families, increasing hardship through the death or disabling of productive family members. The burden of an accident rests both with the victim and with the victim's family: in a marginal subsistence society, there is often little or no capacity to economically deal with an accident. The costs mean that the family must make choices and often results in taking their children out of school or selling family assets such as buffalos or land.

UXO LAO: IMPACT OF UXO CLEARANCE

The activities of UXO Lao contribute not only to saving lives but also to increasing the socio-economic opportunities for some of the poorest districts. Regression analysis in the Lao PDR Poverty Assessment Report in 2003 confirms that both the initial level of UXO contamination as well as the progress in UXO clearance accounts for changes in poverty from 1997/8 to 2002/3. Extending the district-level regressions, per capita consumption tended to increase slower in areas with high UXO contamination, and faster in areas with UXO clearance programs.

UXO Lao enables UXO impacted villagers improved and equitable access to land, markets and social and economic services, environmentally sustainable utilization of natural resources. UXO clearance ultimately leads to enhancing the livelihoods of poor, vulnerable, and food insecure populations through sustainable development within the Millennium Development Goals Framework by 2011.

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