Introduction
The Portfolio of Mine Action Projects 2009 provides a snapshot of the problems of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in 33 countries, territories and peacekeeping missions, and describes the strategies for eliminating each of these threats.
This 12th edition of the annual portfolio is a collection of mine action project proposals that reflect a strategic response by field-based partners to the landmine and ERW problems in specific countries or territories. The compilation has become a unique resource for donors, policy-makers and service providers.
Each country overview is accompanied by mine action project proposals from appealing agencies, including national mine action authorities, non-governmental organizations and United Nations entities. The set of projects for every country, territory or peacekeeping mission is developed in consultation with many actors and reinforces national mine action strategies. While the Portfolio of Mine Action Projects is published by the United Nations, it is a product of the broader mine action community because it reflects coordinated efforts by local, national and international partners.
Some projects in the portfolio include efforts to clear areas known or believed to be contaminated by landmines and ERW, assist victims, destroy stockpiled mines, and educate girls, boys, women and men about the dangers of these devices. Increasingly, national authorities are leading these efforts. The United Nations pledges to assist mine-affected countries in meeting their obligations under the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine-Ban Treaty and other international norms related to mine action. In May 2008, the international community stepped up its efforts to address the unacceptable impact of cluster munitions by adopting the Convention on Cluster Munitions. A number of projects in this portfolio will help countries remove and destroy millions of unexploded munitions, which are threatening people's lives and jeopardizing development efforts.
The record US $459 million combined budgets for all 300 mine action initiatives featured in the 2009 portfolio shows the growing commitments of many mine-affected countries to eliminating the threats of landmines and ERW. So far, however, only about 5 percent of the amount needed for mine action initiatives in the year ahead has been secured. At the time last year's portfolio was published, about 10 percent of the necessary funding had been committed.
Since 2007, the annual portfolio has been automated, allowing mine action programmes and individual appealing agencies to provide their inputs directly to an online system and manage updates in real time. This effort not only facilitates the production process, but also promotes greater local and national ownership of the portfolio process, and supports capacity development in terms of outreach efforts, especially to donors.
The overviews, projects, budgets and funding shortfalls listed in this publication are updated regularly throughout the year and are available online at http://www.mineaction.org. Please visit the website to view the updated-and new-project information and country profiles.
2009 Portfolio Highlights
33 countries, territories, missions
This 12th edition of the annual Portfolio of Mine Action Projects features
overviews and project outlines for 33 countries, territories or missions
affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war.
300 projects
There are 300 projects in the 2009 portfolio. Africa accounts for the
largest number: 125.
Broad range of participation
The 2009 portfolio continues to receive a high level of participation
by an array of appealing agencies, including national authorities, non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations and UN agencies, funds
and programmes. A total of 93 appealing agencies submitted proposals.
More than two-fifths of the projects were submitted by either international or national NGOs. National NGOs submitted about 20 percent of all projects for 2009, either individually or as a partner appealing agency. International NGOs alone or in partnership with other institutions account for about 28 percent of all projects.
Record shortfall
The combined budgets of all projects in the 2009 portfolio total US
$459 million. So far, about US $22 million has been secured, leaving a
record US $437 million shortfall as of November 2008. Asia has the largest
shortfall at US $215 million. Africa ranks second, with a US $178 million
shortfall.
As in 2008, clearance activities account for 56 percent of the funding shortfall-US $247 million. Projects that cover more than one pillar of mine action (which are labeled as "multiple" and often address capacity building and coordination) account for about 30 percent of the overall funding shortfall.
Afghanistan has requested the largest amount of funds-US $104 million-in this year's portfolio. The smallest amount requested-US $300,000-is for the Russian Federation (Chechnya).
Portfolio of Mine Action Projects: Questions and Answers
What is the Portfolio?
The Portfolio of Mine Action Projects is a resource tool and reference
document for donors, policy-makers, advocates, and national and international
mine action implementers. The country and territory-specific proposals
in the portfolio reflect strategic responses developed in the field to
address all aspects of the problem of landmines and explosive remnants
of war (ERW). This country and territory-based approach aims to present
as comprehensive a picture as possible of the full range of mine action
needs in particular countries and thematic issues related to mine action.
The portfolio ideally reflects projects developed by mine- and ERW-affected
countries and territories based on their priorities and strategies; the
approaches are endorsed by national authorities. The portfolio does not
automatically entail full-scale direct mine action assistance by the United
Nations, but is in essence a tool for collaborative resource mobilization,
coordination and planning of mine action activities involving partners
and stakeholders. A country portfolio coordinator (CPC) leads each country
portfolio team and coordinates the submission of proposals to the portfolio's
headquarters team. While the majority of the CPCs are UN officials, this
role is increasingly being assumed by national authorities. The country
portfolio teams include representatives from national and local authorities,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the United Nations and the private
sector. Locally based donor representatives are invited to attend preparation
meetings.
Each portfolio chapter contains a synopsis of the scope of the landmine and ERW problem, a description of how mine action is coordinated, and a snapshot of local mine action strategies. Many of the strategies complement or are integrated into broader development and humanitarian frameworks such as national development plans, the UN development assistance frameworks and national poverty reduction plans.
Which parts of the united nations
participate in the Portfolio process?
Fourteen UN departments, agencies, programmes and funds are involved in
mine action. Each may choose to submit project proposals to the portfolio
through the field-based preparation process. UN headquarters entities submit
global mine action project proposals reflecting the budgets for their respective
core headquarters-based activities. The UN headquarters portfolio team,
based in New York, consists of representatives from the UN Mine Action
Service (UNMAS), as coordinator; the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and
the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). This team compiles all submissions from
the field into this annual publication and makes the contents available
online at http://www.mineaction.org.
What is an "appealing agency"?
Appealing agencies are the national authorities, NGOs, international
organizations and UN entities that appeal for funding for mine action activities.
What is an "implementing partner"?
Implementing partners include national authorities, national and international
NGOs, international organizations, UN entities, commercial companies and
military institutions that conduct mine action operations and activities
on behalf of appealing agencies. Implementing partners are listed in each
project submission.
What is in a typical project proposal?
Each project proposal includes a description of objectives, targeted
beneficiaries, planned activities, expected outcomes, the name of the appealing
agency, a list of implementing partners, the total budget and the amount
of funding requested for the coming year(s). Project codes for ongoing
projects remain the same from year to year. New projects receive new codes
reflecting the year first year they were submitted. Projects are identified
by mine action pillar. Contact details for each project are provided for
ease of reference and follow up by donors.
How current is the information in
the Portfolio?
In most cases, overviews for countries and funding needs for individual
projects were current as of October 2008. After the portfolio is published,
the country overviews and project proposals are posted and regularly updated
online at http://www.mineaction.org.
How can a new country/territory be
added to the Portfolio?
Countries that are not currently in the portfolio can find information
about participating by contacting the headquarters portfolio team at dpko-mines-portfolio@un.org.
How does the Portfolio complement
the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP)?
Each year, a number of countries featured in the portfolio are also included
in the annual UN Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP). Inter-agency standing
committee working groups, established at the field level under the leadership
of the UN Resident or Humanitarian Coordinator, identify and agree on priorities
for the coming year as part of the CAP. Based on a common humanitarian
action plan, the CAP presents priority funding appeals. These are often
known as consolidated appeals, but in some cases are known as work plans
or action plans.
Portfolio country team members and CPCs, in particular, are engaged in the production of the CAP to ensure coherence between the proposed responses to the landmine and ERW problems presented in the portfolio and the humanitarian appeal. Depending on the humanitarian priorities in a given country, mine action might appear in a CAP as a distinct sector or as part of a larger sector such as "protection," "health" or "education."
The UN headquarters portfolio team coordinates regularly with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) in Geneva to ensure the consistency of information related to the mine action sector on both the portfolio fund-tracking system (at http://www.mineaction.org) and the CAP Financial Tracking Service managed by OCHA (at http://www.reliefweb.int/fts).
The print version of the 2009 portfolio was launched prior to completion of the 2009 CAP and therefore does not indicate which portfolio projects are also included in the CAP.