Community Liaison Team
Mine Risk Education and Task Impact Assessment
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Mine Risk Education & Public Relations |
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| In line with the International mine action standards (IMAS) for MRE published in 2003, the NPA programme conducts operational MRE in support of all clearance tasks, before, during, and on completion of tasks. The MRE team gives information to the local community about the clearance operation explaining the location of the mine contamination, marking, safe and cleared areas as one of the key elements for good cooperation with local inhabitants and authorities. I addition the team is responsible for communication with local medias and also information exchange with NPA Information department and other mine related organizations or medias (web, ICBL, TV crews, reporters, interviews,...) | |||
| Objective of Task Impact Assessment | |||
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Task impact assessment is the analysis of the likelihood that mine clearance of a prioritised site will impact positively, directly or (and most likely) indirectly through facilitating for other humanitarian initiatives, on the socio-economy of the targeted community. The purpose of task impact assessments is to help you make more informed decisions about prioritising mine clearance activities. It does so by identifying the justification for mine clearance in terms of benefiting the defined target group and beneficiaries. It allows you to identify the capacities and vulnerabilities in assessed communities and thereby their additional needs, to ensure appropriate post-demining land use and avoid prioritising an unsustainable mine clearance task. To provide qualitative base information for decision-making of mine clearance operations and for better planning, directing, monitoring and evaluation of the process of priority setting and task selection for clearance. |
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Specific TIA Methodology for NPA BiH.Input comes from 4 sources: the county administration, the canton administration, other non-mine action humanitarian and development organisations and most importantly, the local people in the suspected mined areas through interviews with the TIA team. Input: 1. Priority cantons and areas in which NPA is to conduct mine action activity (survey, marking, clearance and mine risk education) is received from the BHMAC with existing information and information gained from the landmine impact survey (LIS). 2. NPA meets the canton representatives (Mayor or head of relevant department) and gets more information about the specific mine situation in the municipality, impact of mines, and planned development activities in the area. (Responsibility of Mine Action Coordinator/TIA Team leader) 3. NPA TIA team goes to the canton and speaks to landowners, users and other members of the local community to get first-hand information on the mine situation and conducts an assessment of the terrain (from the safe area) in the areas identified as mine-suspected ask about the impact of mines and to assess post clearance land use and benefit. |
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Output:
A list of tasks (areas) for demining or technical survey, assessed according to maximisation of beneficial impact on the affected communities, to provide the NPA Project Manager as future technical survey/clearance tasks for NPA to conduct and/or as feedback to BHMAC as possible future tasks, and required technical survey.
The Team
Specific Activities: Task Impact Assessment, Community Liaison and Mine Risk Education.
1. Conduct TIA on all NPA operational tasks before clearance or survey begins. (now using NPAs TIA form).
2 Record all TIA information for the selected task on TIA form, so every part of the mine suspected area on the map can be shown as either :
a. under cultivation/in use/ free from threat of mines
b. suspected to be mined requiring technical survey (Level 2).
c. Demined (with QA)
All of this information is fed back to the NPA project manager for inclusion in their Mine information system.
3. At the same time, during the same TIA process, when areas are identified as suspected, the TIA team will ask the task impact assessment questions for each suspected area identified
4. This information is analyzed by the project manager to define priority technical survey and demining tasks and given to the mine action coordinator for implementation.
1. Continue assessing the impact of the task to ensure the justification is still relevant/valid; (ensuring proper beneficiaries, and comparative appropriate priority, i.e. in relation to other prioritised tasks)
2. Inform the local community of NPA existing and planned activities in the area; with exact areas of operation, planned tasks, timeframes, marking plan
3. Inform them of safe areas, suspected areas to be checked, dangerous areas to be cleared, marked, etc.
4. The people should be physically shown (safety-dependent) areas on the ground, backed up with maps where appropriate, with time frames given for planned activities so they know what to expect.
5. Gather information on other suspected areas outside current tasking
6. Inform of dangers of mines, spread ‘safety-‘mine awareness message’
7. Always inform prior, during and upon completion of any mine action activities (survey, marking or clearance), exactly where will be/has been worked, where is now safe/ where is not, what the marking means, request to respect it and maintain it.
8. Ensure contact is made (via the Mine Action Coordinator) with other agencies conducting mine awareness in the area and information on NPA’s activities provided so they can incorporate it into their mine awareness projects.
