VN needs 100 years, $10 bn to clear bombs, mines

The figure does not include the billions of US dollars needed for resettlement and ensuring social security in contaminated areas.

 

An estimated 800,000 tonnes of unexploded bombs and mines leftover from wartime are buried over 20 per cent of the country’s territory, said Deputy Chief of the ministry’s Secretariat Luu Hong Son at a World Day of Bomb and Mine Prevention planning meeting.

 

The US army used more than 15 million tonnes of bombs and mines in the war in Vietnam from 1945 to 1975, four times the amount used in World War 2.

 

Leftover wartime bombs and mines have killed about 42,130 people and injured 62,160 others in the country.

 

The aftermath of bombs and mines leftover from the wars has affected socioeconomic development and had severe consequences on people’s lives, he said.

 

Thanks to the efforts of the relevant ministries, agencies, and society as a whole - as well as to the cooperation co-operation and assistance of international friends and donors - Vietnam has achieved much in overcoming the consequences of bombs and mines. Tens of thousands of hectares of land have been decontaminated. Vietnam has completed the zoning of contaminated areas. But much remains to be done, he said.

 

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, head of the State Steering Committee for the National Mine Action Programme, agreed to establish the Mine Action Partnership Group (MAPG). The MAPG aims to call on donors and international sponsors to implement an effective cleanup programme.