A two-day workshop, which marked the beginning of a regional project “Mine action after the floods, the regional response to the crisis, the development of technology and capacity-building” was completed yesterday in Sarajevo.
The project is a response of the state centers for demining in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia, after the floods that engulfed the region this year.
After the donors, partners and friends of the project were presented at the workshop, as well as the plan for the implementation of the project on the second day of the workshop, there was a preparation of teams of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Sarajevo and Geoarheo center for field work.
This implies that participants in the practical implementation of the project, based on data provided by BH MAC in the project documentation, will perform a specific preparation for the continuation of work on the ground. That means recording of mines with the help of drones in suspected areas affected by the floods and landslides.
“Operatives from the regional offices were guides to the teams for recording and the teams from the Civil Engineering Faculty, who have been taking samples in the landslides. We have so far defined 30 areas,” told FENA Milan Bajić, project coordinator.
This recording, he added, will not be completed with the end of the workshop; it will be continued next month.
Drones arrived in BiH thanks to the Royal Military Academy of Belgium.
“These are unmanned aircraft with sensors, which collect data and record the situation after the floods. Also, we have experts from Belgium who will help us to analyze the data,” told FENA Yann Yvinec researcher from the Royal Military Academy.
The primary beneficiaries will be the citizens of BiH who are affected by the floods. 810 km2 have been flooded in BiH, of which 83 km2 of flooded area is covered in landmines.
“These are approximately 33 locations in central and northern BiH from Krivaja to Posavina, where to 43 km2 will be the subject of the project.
These locations will be inspected by drones and information will be processed by our associates,” said Ahdin Orahovac, Assistant Director of the BiH Mine Action Center.
Besides BH MAC, the project gathers Croatian Mine Action Center, Center for Demining of the Republic of Srpska, HCR-Center for Testing, Development and Training.
(Source: Fena)
