Mine contamination in the region of SEE

It is estimated that more than 2 million mines and other unexploded ordnance have been left in the ground as a deadly legacy of the recent conflicts in the Balkans. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro as well as Macedonia are dealing with this problem on a daily basis which prevents people to lead normal lives since they are in constant fear of working in fields, going to work, schools and churches. Each step in the suspected area can cause a disaster.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND SECURITY IMPACT OF LANDMINES IN THE REGION OF SEE

Mines represent by far one of the most significant security, humanitarian, environmental, economic and development problems of the international community. Areas covered with mines have direct and indirect impact on a community, manifested in a huge number of civilian casualties, the population’s health, losses in livestock, arable land, supplies, production and trade, constant fear and threat, resumption of animosity, distrust and intolerance.

Country	Number of Mines and UXOs	Source	Mine/UXO Suspected Area	% of the Total Area
Albania	No official data available	AMAE	6,3 sq. km	0,02%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Over 670 000 mines and 650 000 UXOs	BH MAC	2 130,6 sq. km	4,2 %
Croatia	App. 500 000 mines and 400 000 UXOs	CROMAC	1 700 sq. km	3 %
Macedonia	No official data available	/	App. 21 sq. km (UXOs)	0,08 %
Serbia and Montenegro	710 000 mines and unknown number of UXOs No official data available	MAC Belgrade   /	App. 44 sq. km   /	0,05 %   /

Albania
Mine contamination in Albania stretches along Kosovo (FRY)/Albanian border in Northern Albania from Shistavec in the South to Tropoje in the North. The stretch is 120 km long and the mines are laid up to 400 meters into Albania. The initial surveys predicted 15,1 square kilometers of mine affected land. Until now 6,5 square kilometers were released after the Level I and Level II survey. 15 % of all expected mine-contaminated area has been already cleared.

Bosnia and Herzegovina
4,2 % of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina presents the mine suspected area (2.089 square kilometers). It is predicted that there are 18.600 minefields with app. 1 million of mines and 300.000 UXOs. Until now 39.051.392 square meters of mine suspected area has been already cleared.

Croatia
1700 square kilometers of land are suspected to be mined in Croatia that represents 3% of the total territory of Croatia. 170 square kilometers are expected to be minefields, other nuisance mines or suspected areas. Until now 15% of the total mine suspected area has been cleared.

Macedonia
21 square kilometers are suspected to be contaminated, mainly with UXOs in Macedonia, which represents 0,07% of the total area in Macedonia. Mines are expected to be found in the border with Kosovo (FRY). Until now 17% of the contaminated area have been cleared. The prediction is that Macedonia could be declared of UXO and mine effect free by the end of 2003.

Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia – By the data of Mine Action Center of Serbia and Montenegro 39 square kilometers of land is contaminated with mines and UXOs (clusters bombs), that represents 0,04% of the total territory of Serbia. 40 locations are contaminated with app. 60 air bombs and high caliber projectiles. Nothing has been cleared yet.
Montenegro – the minefields in Montenegro are situated along the border area with Croatia. UXOs are expected to be found underwater in the coast area of Montenegro. The exact data is not known yet.