The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction Volume 11 Issue 1 The Journal of Mine Action Article 1 July 2007 The Journal of ERW and Mine Action Issue 11.1 (2007) CISR JOURNAL Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU (CISR) Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal Part of the Defense and Security Studies Commons, Emergency and Disaster Management Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, and the Peace and Conflict Studies Commons Recommended Citation JOURNAL, CISR (2007) "The Journal of ERW and Mine Action Issue 11.1 (2007)," Journal of Mine Action : Vol. 11 : Iss. 1 , Article 1. Available at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol11/iss1/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction by an authorized editor of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. JOURNAL: The Journal of ERW and Mine Action RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT IN MINE ACTION Journal of Mine Action The Journal of Mine Action is soliciting articles for its peer-reviewed Research, Tech- nology and Development section, which appears in every issue of the JMA. All articles 12.1 on current trends and developments in R&D will be considered for this section. Topics Call For Papers will include but not be limited to: Giving the mine-action community a voice • Detection and Neutralization Issue 11.1 | Summer 2007 • Mechanical Equipment Journal of Mine Action • Manual Equipment • Data Fusion • Biosensors (including dogs, rats and bees) Deadline: 1 January 2008 • GIS, Mapping and Terrain Analysis Publish Date: July 2008 • Personal Protective Equipment Issue 11.1 Summer 2007 Easter • Demining Tools • Metal Detectors • Needs of Users • Lessons Learned in the Field • Test and Evaluation • Information Technology • Mine-detection Test Facilities • Landmines, ERW and Ordnance SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Article length: 1,000–2,000 words, submitted in digital format (i.e., Microsoft Word). R&D articles can be up to 2,500 words. Images/photos: Must be scanned at 300 dpi or better. Line art, graphics and charts should be scanned at 600 dpi or better. Submit all images/graphics by CD, Zip disk or e-mail (.zip files cannot be received via e-mail at JMU). n Europe and the Caucasus Important: Please do not include images in your documents. The quality is too poor for printing. Originals are encouraged and will be returned upon request. Contact information/bio: Articles must contain a title, author and full con- tact information at the end of the article (i.e., phone, e-mail and mailing ad- dress). Please include a head-and-shoulders photo and biography (no more than 60 words) of the author for inclusion at the end of the article. Consider FOCUS including credentials, books authored and other biographical information. Victim/Survivor Assistance Need help? If you have a story to tell but not the time to put pen to paper, or EASTERN if English is not your native language, contact us and one of our journalists Issue 12.1 of the Journal of Mine Action will focus can help. on landmine victim and survivor assistance. Articles related to how the Ottawa process and national plans For complete submission guidelines, please visit: incorporate or enhance victim assistance programs are http://maic.jmu.edu/journal/index/guidelines.htm requested. Articles about help available to landmine sur- vivors and their families, ways to improve survivors’ lives Submit all materials to: and help them become self-sufficient (especially through Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Mine Action entrepreneurship), organizations that work with survi- James Madison University vors and victims, and victims’ stories will be considered. MSC 4018 51-B Burgess Rd. Harrisonburg, VA 22807 / USA EUROPE FEATURE Phone: +1 540 568 2503 1533-9440 ISSN: Fax: +1 540 568 8176 Local NGOs E-mail: [email protected] and the The JMAs i soliciting articles for issue 12.1 about local, CAUCASUS as opposed to international or transnational, nongovern- mental organizations and their work in the field of mine action. Profiles of local NGOs, articles about how they Plus: National Ownership/Capacity function, specialties and differences among the various NGOs will be considered. Development Feature Section Published by JMU Scholarly Commons, 2007 1 The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Vol. 11, Iss. 1 [2007], Art. 1 Editorials 2 4 6 9 e d i t o r i a l 11 15 Table of Contents Table 18 21 23 25 30 33 35 40 44 48 50 51 53 55 56 58 61 64 66 68 making it personal71 72 77 79 82 83 87 88 90 94 96 100 105 https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol11/iss1/1 2 research and developmnet JOURNAL: The Journal of ERW and Mine Action Capacity Building in Mine Action: Are We There Yet? This article flags some of the major debates within the broader development literature and introduces concepts that might help to better define and identify what is meant by “capacity development.” by Olaf Juergensen [ National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation, Lebanon ] he mine-action industry has made and what we do in “normal” development and cheaply. The reason for this is the con- major strides in supporting nation- contexts holds some merit, but from a ca- siderable effort that has gone into trying to T al efforts to gain ownership and ca- pacity-building perspective, we should ask understand the nature and nuances of mine pacity to manage local problems with mines ourselves if the gulf is really as wide as we clearance and how to perfect it as a tech- and explosive remnants of war. For more think. The objectives of the institutions or nique. Can the same be said of how we assess than a decade, the international community the skills enhanced might have different and develop national capacity? e d i t o r i a l has poured significant human and financial applications in the different scenarios, but Understandably, developing national Letters to the Editor capital into developing local capacity to deal the processes of developing national ca- capacity to lead and own the problem in with the different problems the presence of pabilities do have commonalities that are many ways can be more difficult than re- As an independent journal, we provide topics that stimulate conversations. We give the mine-action landmines poses. So what have we learned worth exploring if the mine-action com- moving mines from a stretch of road. As we as a global community of mine-action prac- munity is intent on learning from past suc- well know when new demining techniques community a place to sound off. Every issue brings us rants and raves—happily, usually many more titioners and advisers? cesses and failures. are developed and introduced into the field, For quite some time now, we have di- Mine action in general has benefited geography matters. Not surprisingly, clear- raves than rants. We’re sharing some of them here. vided our thinking and approach to mine from adopting a “best practices” approach ance techniques and procedures that work action and capacity development into two in many operational areas; however, for in Afghanistan might not always be trans- operational realms. The first realm is the the “practice” of capacity development, we ferable to Colombia; mine-risk education I am writing to you in my capacity as Austcare’s Mine Action War in the Republic of Croatia” by Mr. Dražen Simunović, but in- post-conflict theatre where humanitarian have no organized conceptual or technical programmes can be limited by culture and Officer. I have just read with interest your article in the Winter 2006 stead of his picture on the end of the text you put the picture of Mr. relief and infrastructure renewal require an body of work to draw upon. We do have values; and commitments to landmine sur- edition of the JMA, “TheMine Action Express … or the Wreck of Nikola Gambiroza. emergency rapid response. Financial and a great deal of descriptive/historical infor- vivors are beholden to leaderships and bud- the ‘09.” These indeed are the issues I,along with other mine-action ~ Sandra Kuzmic, Organizational Affairs Adviser political resources are quickly scrambled, mation reporting quantifiable “outputs” gets. Anecdotally, none of this is new, but practitioners, are having to tackle and it was very helpful to have you CROMAC–Croatian Mine Action Centre often under the guise of a U.N. peacekeep- achieved (e.g., national plans completed, how do we make sense of these vagaries from spell it all out so clearly. ing mission and all it entails. Capacity standards established, the Information a broader perspective? ~ James Turton Mine Action Officer Austcare Editor’s Note: We apologize for building in a war-torn society is seen as a Management System for Mine Action op- The concepts of “capacity” and “capac- putting in the wrong photo for this third or fourth rank-order concern—the erationalised, etc.), but we have scant work ity development” remain hazy. Perhaps this Thanks for your recent piece on cluster munitions in Lebanon. article. We corrected it in the online immediate concern is to provide the “space” on the capacity-development outcomes of obscurity is why as a community we have We’re finally beginning to make progress! edition as soon as we were alerted to for the processes of reconstruction and rec- our work (direct and indirect) and the vi- become divided to the point where their onciliation to take root.