NATIONAL MINE ACTION CENTRE (NMAC)

Sri Lanka National Mine Action Centre

5th Floor, Sethsiripaya Stage 1, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka ​

Sri Lanka National Mine Action Centre

Survey & Clearance

Survey & Clearance

Created by Mas Dhimasfrom the Noun Project

Mine Clearance in 2023

5.33 km2 (5,331,285.55 m2)

Land Released in 2023

6.1 km2 (6,130,384.55 m2)

Created by Luis Pradofrom the Noun Project

Remaining Contamination

24.1 km 2 (as of July 2024)

Land Released Outputs and Article 5 Compliance

Land Released 5.42 km2 (5,428,507 m2)
Land Cleared 5.06 km2 (5,060,687 m2)
Land Cancelled through Non-Technical Survey 0.0056 km2 (5,662 m2)
Land Reduced through Technical Survey 0.36 km2 (362,158 m2)
Land Released 5.88 km2 (5,884,246.1 m2)
Land Cleared 5.39 km2 (5,392,261.1 m2)
Land Cancelled through Non-Technical Survey 0.0056 km2 (5,639 m2)
Land Reduced through Technical Survey 0.48 km2 (486,346 m2)
Land Released 6.1 km2 (6,130,384.55 m2)
Land Cleared 5.33 km2 (5,331,285.55 m2)
Land Cancelled through Non-Technical Survey 0.021 km2 (21,654.50 m2)
Land Reduced through Technical Survey 0.77 km2 (777,444.50 m2)

*Please note that the figure provided may be subject to change based on information gathered during the completion survey process.

Summary of Mine Action Progress by District as of September 2024
For weekly update please refer to IMSMA (Simplified) Dashboard

Demining Capacity

Two International Operators: Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and the Halo Trust (HALO) since 2002

Two National Operators: Delvon Assistance for Social Harmony (DASH) since 2010 and Skavita Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Project (SHARP) since 2016

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Humanitarian Demining Unit (HDU)

Since the launch of Sri Lanka’s mine action program in 2002, several operators have actively supported clearance efforts but have since phased out. These include the Danish Demining Group (DDG), Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD), Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), HORIZON, Japan Center for Conflict Prevention (JCCP), Milinda Moragoda Institute for People’s Empowerment (MMIPE), RONCO and SARVATRA.

The nearly three decade-long armed conflict between Sri Lanka’s security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) left many areas, mainly in the northern and eastern provinces, contaminated by a wide range of Explosive Ordnance (EO). Both Sri Lanka’s security forces and the LTTE laid mines and used other EO extensively. The Indian Peacekeeping Forces also used landmines during their presence between 1987 and 1990. Starting in 2002, some EO-contaminated areas in the northern and eastern provinces were cleared. The escalation of the conflict in 2006, however, resulted in areas being re-contaminated. Sri Lanka’s mine action programme has since its establishment in 2002 until 2022 cleared over 200km²  of minefields and conducted more than 100km² of Battle Area Clearance, destroying more than 843,000 anti-personnel mines, an approximate 2,050 anti-vehicle mines and more than 360,700 unexploded ordnances (UXO). Mine action has played an instrumental role in the safe resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sri Lanka’s northern and eastern provinces, releasing safe land for resettlement, reconstruction and livelihood activities. According to the Ministry of Housing and Construction, over 900,000 IDPs have been resettled as of July 2022.
Sri Lanka is one of the few States Parties with large-scale contamination that is on course to complete clearance by the initial deadline set down in the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC). With the accession to the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) in December 2017, Sri Lanka committed to identifying and clearing all anti-personnel (AP) mined areas by 1 June 2028, in line with its Article 5 obligations. In March 2023, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) endorsed the Sri Lanka National Mine Action Completion Strategy 2023-2027, showcasing the Government’s strategic commitment to completion. In 2022, despite facing financial and political crises that led to a total of 74 days of operation suspension across the four mine action NGOs (MAG, HALO, DASH, and SHARP), NMAC reported clearance of 5.26km² of mined area, marking an increase from the previous year. In 2023, the collective efforts of humanitarian mine action NGOs, including NMAC, resulted in the clearance of 5.33km² of mined area, demonstrating ongoing progress despite challenges.’ As of March 2024*, NMAC estimates that a total of 23.4km² hazardous areas remain in 11 districts out of Sri Lanka’s 25 administrative districts. Mullaitivu remains the most heavily EO-contaminated district, followed by Mannar, Vavuniya and Kilinochchi districts. The release of these areas is expected to enable safe conservation, tourism, agriculture, fishing, infrastructure development and access to education and health facilities. *Please note that the figures provided may be subject to change based on information gathered during the completion survey process.
Mine action operators completed resurvey activities in early 2017, resulting in the release of large areas of safe land and greater clarity on the remaining EO contamination problem. A principal challenge from 2019, however, was the unexpected discovery of previously unknown mine contamination, which can partly be explained by community members discovering mines while resettling and venturing into previously uninhabited and unexplored areas, including isolated jungles. Another aspect was that some hazardous areas turned out to be considerably larger compared to what was recorded in IMSMA, which resulted in operators spending significantly more time completing clearance tasks, compared to what had been initially planned for. Starting in 2021, the programme addressed this challenge through a dedicated survey to identify any previously unknown contamination. By the end of 2022, NMAC reported a total mine area in Sri Lanka of just over 15.4km². However, by March 2024, this figure had increased to 23.4 km². This rise is attributed to the ongoing Non-Technical Survey (NTS), which has identified additional mine areas subsequently added to the database.

Sri Lanka’s Completion Process presents activities and objectives leading up to Sri Lanka’s completion of Article 5 obligations, expected to be achieved by the end of 2027.

The Process includes dedicated non-technical survey (NTS) activities to identify previously unknown contamination, ongoing survey and clearance of registered hazardous areas and the completion survey.

Based on clear and coherent processes, supported by solid IM and QM processes, the completion survey will allow the GoSL to declare administrative areas ‘complete’, confirming that it is confident that all reasonable effort has been applied to identify and clear all mined areas and that there is no further evidence of mines in the administrative area, at the time of signing the completion documents.

Each village officer in a district will have to confirm that they are not aware of any explosive ordnance contamination. When all villages within a district are complete, the district authority will sign it off as “mine free”.

NMAC has analyzed conflict history and EO contamination at the Grama Niladhari’s (GNs) (the smallest administrative unit in Sri Lanka). This generated a list of conflict affected GNs where the completion survey will be implemented, based on the below methodology:
Provinces/Districts GNs to be visited during the Completion Survey Process Conflict intensity and likelihood of EO contamination
Northern Province: Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Mannar
All
High
Eastern Province: Trincomalee, Batticaloa (not including Ampara)
All conflict affected GNs and all adjacent GNS
Moderate
All other Provinces and Districts: including Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Ampara
Only conflict affected GNs
Low
All mine action operators are conducting completion surveys in accordance with the Completion Survey Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), developed in 2022.

In 2023, the collective efforts of the five mine action operators resulted in the release of a total of 6,130,384.55 square meters (source: IMSMA).

MAG HALO DASH SHARP SLA HDU
2,491,381m2
2,503,425.05m2
618,397m2
340,364m2
176,817.5m2

Use of Land Released in 2023

(Source: IMSMA)

In 2023, a significant portion of the released land, accounting for over 60% of the total area, was dedicated to ensuring safe access and the conservation of natural resources, creating more opportunities for tourism development in the region. Nearly 20% of the released land was designated for agricultural development, aiming to enhance food security and promote economic growth in the region. And 13% of the land was allocated for resettlement purposes and safe access to residential areas.

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