Land Release Project – Mine Free Sarajevo by 2020 Bosnia and Herzegovina
The project goal is to render mine-safe the city of Sarajevo and neighboring municipalities by September 2020. This humanitarian effort will clear nearly 8,600,000m2 of suspected land at a total cost of $1,400,000 USD
Project proposal – LAND RELEASE IN SARAJEVO The Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI), the Mine Detection Dog Center (MDDC), and the International Trust Fund-Enhancing Human Security are now implementing a project to clear the capital city of Sarajevo and adjoining municipalities of landmines and other dangerous explosives by the fall of 2020.This humanitarian effort will render Sarajevo mine-safe, in time to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the end of the war! The project donor, the US Government, is the world’s leading donor of humanitarian mine-action, and no government has done more to support Bosnia and Herzegovina during and after the war.
Land release is a new concept of dealing with suspected hazardous areas in accordance with the International Mine Action Standard (IMAS), becoming the most efficient way to return huge mine suspect areas to use and in the shortest possible time, while performing mine clearance only on confirmed hazardous areas. The project will have multiple positive effects on the impacted communities who will be declared mine free, thus enabling economic development and productive use of land and providing safety for local residents, which is the most important outcome of mine action activities. The impact of such activities on communities and local population, as well as entire country is enormous.
Location of the action: Sarajevo and surrounding municipalities Size of the project: 8,600,000 square meters of land Project duration: One and a half years Objectives of the action: Overall objective: To contribute to the improvement of safety and socio-economic development in Bosnia and Herzegovina by clearing the mine-contaminated land, thus creating assumptions for further development of the entire country. Specific objective: Release 8,600,000 square meters close to populated areas of Novi Grad, Stari Grad, Vogošća, East Stari Grad, and East Ilidža municipalities.
The project targets the following municipalities that are still mine contaminated: Stari Grad, Vogošća, and Novi Grad, and two municipalities in Republika Srpska: East Stari Grad and East Ilidža. As map shows, the remaining surrounding Sarajevo municipalities are already mine free.
Vogošća 4,5 million square meters of mine contaminated area
Municipality Stari Grad, One million square meters Municipality Novi Grad (1 million sqm) of mine 350.000 square meters contaminated area of mine contaminated area Municipality Center FREE OF MINES
Municipality East Stari Grad, 650.000 square meters of mine contaminated area (Republika Srpska)
Municipality East Ilidža, 1.963.000 square meters of mine contaminated area (Republika Srpska)
Information on mine contamination is provided by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Center. Implementing Partners: Marshall Legacy Institute, Mine Detection Dog Center in Bosnia and Herzegovina (implementing partner on the ground), International Trust Fund –Enhancing Human Security
Visibility of Donors: Upon project completion, Sarajevo Mayor Abdulah Shaka will co-host with senior BiH officials & local leaders a grand celebration, including a ribbon-cutting ceremony and to honor the major donors responsible for the project and to thank US Government for their support of Bosnia and Herzegovina over the past quarter century. Dinner hosts will invite the international donor community to help the entire country become mine-safe by 2025.
The donor and parties involved in this project will be acknowledged and recognized in literature and signage throughout the execution phase of the project. The donor’s name will be published in all relevant printed materials and will be clearly stated in public broadcasts and other communications related to the project. All supporters will be invited to celebrate Sarajevo city as Free of Mines.
Predsjednik američke Fondacije The Marshall Legacy Institute pukovnik (pen.) Perry Baltimore uručuje srebrenu značku Fondacije Eminu Čohodareviću, savjetniku u Ambasade Bosne i Hercegovine u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama za doprinos u pripremi i predstavljanju projekta "Sarajevo bez mina do kraja 2020. godine”.