PROJECT PROFILE COMPREHENSIVE ACTION AGAINST ANTIPERSONNEL MINES (AICMA)

Transcription

1 PROJECT PROFILE COMPREHENSIVE ACTION AGAINST ANTIPERSONNEL MINES (AICMA) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TITLE Country/Region Project Partners Executive Agency Humanitarian Demining and Comprehensive Mine Action in Affected Communities Colombia Presidential mine action program (PAICMA); Ministry of Defense; Armed Forces; Armed Forces Humanitarian Demining Battalion (BIDES) OAS AICMA Program in Colombia (AICMA CO) Project Period January December 2013 Total Budget US $ 5,353, Project Management OAS Headquarters General Coordinator AICMA/PACAM 1889 F Street, NW Washington, DC Tel: + 1 (202) Fax: + 1 (202) Field Office Coordinator AICMA Colombia Carrera 10 # Interior 150, Office 2910 Bogotá, Colombia Tel: + 57 (1) Fax: + 57 (1) Project Summary This project supports humanitarian demining activities carried out by the Government of Colombia in the 14 municipalities most affected by landmines and other explosive devices. The support provided includes provision of certain supplies and technical equipment to the Humanitarian Demining Battalion of the Armed Forces, also designated Engineer Battalion No. 60 Colonel Gabino Gutierrez (Bides), which has conducted humanitarian demining throughout the country since To date, the battalion consists of nine platoons (27 teams) experienced in manual technique; and projects expansion to 14 platoons (42 teams) to include application of mechanical and canine techniques. During 2013, as part of comprehensive actions, the OAS AICMA Program in Colombia (AICMA CO) plans for its risk education community liaison component to continue visiting municipalities where humanitarian demining activities are carried out by BIDES teams. These visits will aim to maintain liaison with the affected communities, strengthening transmission of preventive messages such as the promotion of safe behaviors. Also, community liaison will allow beneficiary communities to participate in the process of humanitarian demining on a continuous manner. In this way communities participate in reinstating affected areas, recuperating a productive economy in each region, and in ensuring safe passage for its people and the return of displaced populations. 1

2 PROBLEM DESCRIPTION According to figures from the Department of Social Prosperity DPS, a government agency that coordinates social inclusion and reconciliation, the decades long armed conflict in Colombia had left 3,875,987 people living in displacement by 2011; and since the 90s about 4 million hectares have been abandoned. Currently, the victims and land restitution law 1448 has opened the way for the filing of 17,303 applications for land restitution; equivalent to an area of 1,340,647 hectares. In addition to forced displacement and abandonment of lands, the conflict has left silent enemies on the ground in the form of unexploded ordnance, antipersonnel mines, or improvised explosives. Indiscriminate use of explosive artifacts has produced 9,933 landmine victims between 1990 and June 2012, according to Colombia s Presidential Program for Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines (PAICMA). In recent years, vulnerable population displaced from rural areas has been returning to their communities of origin to resume their lives, their development and to claim their rights. Land contamination due to explosive artifacts on the lands to be occupied by this population has prevented the safe passage and the safe and productive use of these areas. Villagers use or transit through contaminated areas, assuming risky behaviors usually due to lack of knowledge, misinformation or absolute need. Adverse consequences could be prevented by empowering communities to recognize both individual and collective threats and vulnerabilities. The main goals of community liaison and mine risk education (MRE) before, during, and after humanitarian demining operations, are to promote self care and to increase capabilities within the communities. PROJECT DESCRIPTION Objectives Facilitate Colombia s humanitarian demining activities in priority municipalities. Support an expansion of national capacity in humanitarian demining. Reduce the risk of landmine accidents in communities undergoing clearance by Colombia s Humanitarian Demining Battalion. Active participation by affected communities in the mine action process according to local context and final effects. Dignified and safe return of displaced populations to cleared communities. 2

3 Methodology The Presidential Program for Mine Action (PAICMA) and the Ministry of Defense are the government agencies responsible for implementing the National Plan for comprehensive mine action. PAICMA establishes priorities and supervises all mine action activities in the country, including humanitarian demining work conducted by the Armed Forces. The Humanitarian Demining Battalion (Gabino Gutierrez BIDES) within the Armed Forces is responsible for the direction, coordination, and conduct of clearance operations, in accordance with the Colombian National Demining Plan. PAICMA has determined 14 municipalities as priority for humanitarian demining. The OAS mine action program in Colombia AICMA CO provides direct logistical, technical and advisory support to the Humanitarian Demining Battalion (BIDES) in its field operations. AICMA CO provides weekly follow thru with logistical personnel in the field or connected via telephone or internet. Logistical personnel ensure among other items that technical equipment is delivered to the user. They also ensure that detectors, batteries, protective equipment, communications equipment, medical emergency equipment, medical evacuation equipment, and camp equipment are maintained and kept in optimal condition. Likewise they ensure provision of purified water to work areas of difficult access. Additionally, AICMA CO will be present in municipalities where BIDES carries out humanitarian demining operations, through mine risk education and Community Liaison (MRE / CL), in order to reduce the risk of accidents among children, teenagers, and adults. MRE/CL activities are designed to increase confidence on the part of residents and local authorities; to inform on the nature and purpose of humanitarian demining; and to encourage community participation before, during and after demining. Thus, promoters and program staff empower communities on how to address risk and the processes for local development. Given the security situation facing the country, it is an urgent need to maintain and maximize the effectiveness of comprehensive actions against the risk posed by unexploded ordnance or improvised explosive devices. According to experience, the process of land release increases its positive impact when in conjunction with primary and secondary prevention, and an accident rate reduction of 95%. Risk prevention campaigns will be carried out by the combination of school visits, mass meetings and home visits. Visiting homes provides and maintains greater personal communication and trust with affected people. Visits also facilitate recognition of beliefs toward risk, facilitate information on possible hazardous areas to clear, and identify needs of mine survivors. Finally, to facilitate return to cleared sites and improvement of communities, environmental aspects of humanitarian demining operations will be reviewed to ensure these are in line with current environmental regulations in Colombia. Agricultural, social, and productive parameters will be established in conjunction with communities to develop productive project proposals 3

4 that fit economic conditions of each area. The number of hectares reinstated will be compared to the number areas affected by explosive devices. In each municipality cleared an evaluation of comprehensive action against antipersonnel mines will be completed to determine the effects and impacts of humanitarian demining, mine risk education, community liaison, and micro production projects with communities. This evaluation will be conducted at the AICMA CO program level and at local development level in each municipality. Activities, Outputs, Outcomes Activity 1.0: Provide administrative, technical and logistical support to humanitarian demining conducted in 6 municipalities by BIDES Battalion (No. 60 Col Gabino Gutierrez) using manual, mechanical, and canine techniques. Activity 1.1: Provide administrative, technical, and logistical assistance to BIDES Battalion in its application of manual technique. Output 1.1: Approximately square meters of Land released in the municipalities of San Francisco and Granada in Antioquia; Carmen de Chucurí y San Vicente de Chucurí in Santander; Samaná in Caldas and Zambrano in Bolívar. Outcome 1: National capacity adequately equipped to facilitate the advancement of humanitarian demining activities with 27 teams skilled in manual technique. Activity 1.2: Provide technical, logistical and administrative support to BIDES to develop canine demining technique. Activity 1.3: Provide BIDES with technical, logistical and administrative support to implement mechanical demining technique. Activity 2.0: Provide administrative, technical, and logistical assistance to activate 15 new BIDES units (5 platoons) for manual technique. Output 1.2: Approximately 125,000 square meters released in communities worked by BIDES and verified as part of quality control. Output 1.3: BIDES releases approximately 100,000 square meters of land in the target communities. Product 2.0: 15 new units outfitted with technical, camping, communications, and medical support equipment. Outcome 1.2: BIDES capacity expanded with 12 canine teams properly equipped and supplied. Outcome 1.3: BIDES mechanical demining capacity increased with two Hitachi rotating cutters and one Mini Mine Wolf system. Outcome 2.0: National capacity for manual demining operations increased by 55%. 4

5 Activity 3.0: Conduct prevention campaigns, and promote adoption of safe behaviors relative to APM / UXO / IED in target communities worked by BIDES, nearby communities, and places identified with possible contamination of explosive devices in the departments of Antioquia, Bolivar, Caldas, Meta, Santander and other priority areas. Activity 4.0: Communicate on a permanent basis with affected communities and authorities at municipal, departmental and national levels regarding comprehensive mine actions against / UXO / IED in the areas of intervention by BIDES and AICMA CO before, during and after demining operations. Activity 5.0: Coordinate and implement through financing and technical assistance for micro production projects of short and medium term, the recovery and socioeconomic development of communities cleared of mines; while also promoting the incorporation of communities benefitting from long term macro Output 3.1: Analysis of knowledge, beliefs and practices relating to mine risk by 200 families interviewed. Output 3.2: Sensitized 30 affected communities educated; safe behaviors reinforced. Output 3.3: Preventive messages generated by the community promoted, creating 10 focus groups and / or 30 prevention message multipliers in priority municipalities. Output 4.1: Coordination of activities that meet the needs of six affected municipalities. Output 4.2: population census and database to coordinate preventive education in each of the six municipalities. Output 4.3: Social maps of 30 target communities. Output 5.1: 12 production projects implemented in the 6 targeted municipalities, benefiting at least 100 families at risk Output 5.2: Written evaluation of recovery conditions and socio economic 5 Outcome 3: Sustainable prevention campaigns, through the integration of the affected population in promoting preventive messages. Outcome 4: Mine action interventions effectively coordinated between the communities and the operators through institutional partnerships and community involvement. Outcome 5.1: Reinstatement of cleared land to productive activity in each target municipality, benefiting families assisted, including displaced persons and returnees. Outcome 5.2: A greater socio economic

6 projects offered by local, departmental, and national and international NGOs. Monitoring and Reports development in 6 municipalities intervened. Output 5.3: Evaluations coordinated with authorities at the local departmental and national level as well as with international and nongovernmental entities. impact from mine action in the 6 target municipalities. AICMA CO will monitor humanitarian demining operations through its monitoring component through weekly visits to each demining team in the field to ensure compliance with national and international standards. Monitors will also receive and review daily field reports from the demining units. These reports will be prepared daily by platoon commanders and provided to the humanitarian demining battalion headquarters and to AICMA CO monitors. Monitors will review field reports and submit them each week to AICMA CO. AICMA CO will provide to OAS AICMA and to PAICMA a monthly report on operational results, containing the amount of area cleared, the number of mines and explosive devices found, and any other relevant information. AICMA OAS will send quarterly narrative and financial reports to project donors. Furthermore, telephone communication with local residents and authorities will be maintained during MRE and community liaison activities conducted in each of the municipalities where AICMA CO provides support to BIDES units. Planned activities will be monitored and evaluated as well as the performance of each consultant. AICMA CO will schedule a visit to each work area at least twice a year to assess progress made and lessons learned to help improve the process carried out in communities. Follow up on MRE activities in the field will be conducted through a random survey of 15% of the total population at risk educated on mine risk through house to house visits, group audiences, and school meetings. The baseline will be established during the initial survey of the population and will be compared to risk behaviors reported by those interviewed, including children, youth, men and women, as well as local authorities. Quantitative and qualitative quarterly and annual reports sent to OAS AICMA headquarters will report on mine risk education and community liaison activities, as well as on micro production projects. Similarly, there will be an annual report on the mine action impact in each municipality and on progress in the demining process. Compliance with environmental guidelines will be monitored through 1 or 2 visits to each demining operation in the intervention sites. The findings of critical or non critical nonconformities shall be reported in monitoring report # 9 on environmental protection. 6

7 Risks and Mitigation Strategies One of the main risks in carrying out the project would be related to security conditions. The armed conflict could prevent access to priority regions that require logistic support, MRE and community liaison; and if the safety of AICMA CO consultants and officials is compromised, remaining in the work areas would be unlikely. In cases where security situations hinder MRE, community liaison activities and the provision of logistics, activities will be suspended and personnel will monitor the social dynamics of the municipality in place to protect officials and the affected community. When it is anticipated that these situations will continue beyond the short term, the transfer of demining teams to areas with adequate security conditions will be scheduled. Winter rains and long distances to be covered during home to home visits make movement into priority communities difficult and delay results and completion of scheduled mine risk education campaigns and community liaison activities These activities will be scheduled again to comply with the project goals initially proposed. Deteriorating roads impede transportation for AICMA CO staff and delivery of logistical support items to the operation sites. Productive micro projects are highly affected by climatic conditions of the areas and by difficulty of access to such areas. Parameters that are consistent with planting rain cycles in each region will be established. Human Resources To develop actions Mine Risk Education and community liaison activities proposed in this project, AICMA CO will have a component officer and sixteen (16) promoters located in the departments of Antioquia, Bolivar, Caldas and Santander; promoters can be activated in other departments as needed. For operation of the administrative and logistical support AICMA CO will have a manager, an administrative assistant, five (5) logistics personnel, two (2) drivers, an IMSMA database technician and a specialist. A professional agronomist develops and implements micro projects, monitors environmental protection, and assesses mine action impact. BUDGET SUMMARY Direct Costs 7

8 Activity 1.1: Provide administrative, technical, and logistical assistance to BIDES Battalion in its application of manual technique. Activity 1.2: Provide technical, logistical and administrative support to BIDES to develop canine demining technique. Activity 1.3: Provide BIDES with technical, logistical and administrative support to implement mechanical demining technique. Activity 2.0: Provide administrative, technical, and logistical assistance to activate 15 new BIDES units (5 platoons) for manual technique. Activity 3.0: Conduct prevention campaigns, and promote adoption of safe behaviors relative to APM / UXO / IED in target communities worked by BIDES, nearby communities, and places identified with possible contamination of explosive devices in the departments of Antioquia, Bolivar, Caldas, Meta, Santander and other priority areas. Activity 4.0: Communicate on a permanent basis with affected communities and authorities at municipal, departmental and national levels regarding comprehensive mine actions against / UXO / IED in the areas of intervention by BIDES and AICMA CO before, during and after demining operations. Activity 5.0: Coordinate and implement through financing and technical assistance f or micro production projects of short and medium term, the recovery and socio economic development of communities cleared of mines; while also promoting the incorporation of communities benefitting from long term macro projects offered by local, departmental, and national and international NGOs. $ 2,256, $ 247, $ 133, $ 1,836, $ 168, $ 37, $ 85, Total Direct Costs $ 4,764, Total Indirect Direct Costs $ 588, Total Budget US$ 5,353, ANNEXES ANNEX 1 GENERAL AREAS OF OPERATIONS 8

9 Antioquia San Francisco Granada Bolívar Zambrano Caldas Saman á Santander Carmen de Chucurí San Vicente de Chucurí ANEXO 2: PROCESS FOR APPROVAL OF PRODUCTIVE MICRO PROJECTS 9

10 DEMINED AREAS DISCUSSION AND DETERMINATION OF PRODUCTIVE PROPOSALS WITH THE COMMUNITY PROJECT PROPOSAL PRESENTED APPROVAL YES NO REQUEST FOR RESOURCES END OF PROCESS RESOURCES ASSIGNED IMPLEMENTATION MONITORING AND FOLLOW UP 10