Jordan has long suffered from the negative impact of landmines, innocent lives have been lost and fertile land has remained uncultivated. According to public data around 500,000 Jordanians, 8% of the population, are affected by the presence of landmines in their local communities. National measures to rid the country of this threat have been in effect since 1993, when the late King Hussein gave the order to start clearing Wadi Araba of its mine threat. In cooperation with the NCDR and the NPA, 135,000 square meters has been cleared and over 50,000 mines have been detected and disarmed in the area between Aqaba and the Dead Sea. The NPA has since its first project in 1992 specialized in the humanitarian aspect of mine clearance. The organization has worked in this area in 16 countries world wide and is a leading NGO on the field.
The Mines along the border to Syria was planted during the 1970’s civil war in Jordan. The area covers a 108km stretch of land situated a alongside the Syrian border, containing 93 mine fields. It is estimated that these fields hold around 280,000 anti personnel and anti tank mines. The NPA Programme Manager Stephen Bryant stated earlier in the project that he is confident that the successes the NPA has had to date can be emulated in the northern border project, adding that the NPA has an excellent team of experienced personnel that are committed to removing the last remaining mined area in Jordan. The NPA has the full support of the NCDR and the Jordanian military along with the necessary commitment of the donors, namely, Norway, Canada, the European Commission, Germany and Japan. The Norwegian government alone has contributed with more than USD 7 million. The project has an estimated time frame of 2 years.
In cooperation with the training facility for dogs in Bosnia, 11 mine detection dogs were sent to the area in January 2008. Using dogs greatly improves the efficiency of the search; a dog can clear an area up to 400 square meters per day depending on the terrain, while a person can clear between 20 and 60 square meters depending on the search method being used. The dogs have spent 45 days at the training site before coming to Jordan with their Bosnian trainers. The aim is to be able train local dogs and trainers by the end of 2008 with their assistance.
In addition to enhancing the effectiveness of the search by using dogs, the NPA has also put to use special fuse burning ovens. After disarming the mine, the fuses are burnt separately in these ovens, while the rest of the mine is burnt in a hole in the ground according to safety regulations. The ovens are a local construction developed by ADB team coordinator Basem Kasabeh. The fuse burners have been a huge success and a have insured greater safety for the mine defusing personnel.
Jordan has been one of Norway’s most important collaborators in the field of defending and strengthening the International Mine Convention during the ten years of its existence. In sum Norway has contributed with more than USD 22 million for mine projects in Jordan. Norway gives high priority to providing financial support to countries that demonstrate a willingness to take responsibility, solve practical problems, learn from previous mistakes, cooperate with the UN and NGOs and to give mine clearance the political support it needs in order to be successful. This has to a large extent been the case when it comes to the cooperation with Jordan and the project that will insure that Jordan be the first mine free country in the Middle East. Norway looks forward to celebrating this important event with Jordan and wishes to continue the cooperation until our common goal has been achieved: A Jordan free from mines.