This layer presents the contamination of land by mines in the types 'massive’, ‘heavy’, ‘medium’, ‘light’ and 'residual' for 2017. The presentation follows the classification of the Landmine Monitor, 2017.
The term landmine refers to anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines. People, animals or civilian cars can trigger landmines, even years after a conflict has ended. Generally, there are no exact maps or land registers of mine fields so that the approximate scope of the contamination with mines can only be estimated. One differentiates between four types of contamination: very heavy (surfaces > 100km2), heavy (surfaces 99km2 - 20km2), medium (surfaces 19km2 - 5km2) and light (surfaces < 5km2).
© picture-alliance / dpa
Production, proliferation and effects of landmines and cluster bombs
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (Mine Ban Treaty) entered into force in 1999. The Convention only covers anti-personnel mines and therefore excludes anti-vehicle mines.
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