Cambodia suffers from one of the worst landmine problems in the world with old, hidden explosives scattered throughout the country and some 40,000 amputees living disadvantaged lives – a legacy of over 3 decades of war.
APOPO and its landmine-detecting HeroRATs work alongside local partner the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) to conduct a humanitarian landmine clearance project in the northern Siem Reap province.
The project targets the most mine-affected villages in order to return safe productive land back to communities where it makes the biggest impact. The local rural population is dependent on agriculture. Mine clearance will return much-needed safe land back to the communities as quickly and cost-effectively as possible, not only saving countless lives, but allowing communities to improve their livelihoods by enabling them to get back onto prime agricultural land to plant crops, raise livestock and expand their farms.
APOPO recruits and trains men and women from the mine-affected areas so that the local communities are part of the clearance process.
