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Humanitarian Mine Action

The future of WADS

02/11/2006: Development of the mine clearance system WADS enters a new and exciting phase. During the past twelve months, the big mine clearance system WADS has been tested in very difficult areas in eastern Angola. When the system is fully developed, the WADS should be able to clear roads much faster than ever before and thus open areas for development and traffic. And the need is huge in the country stricken by civil war for decades.

At the present stage of development it is imperative to systematise the huge amount of data collected. The WADS must be adjusted to work on different types of roads and tuned to detect different types of landmines.

Cheaper in Denmark

Costs of living are high in Angola, spare parts are difficult to get and it is time consuming to travel to eastern Angola, where DanChurchAid works with mine clearance. Therefore, it has been decided to bring the WADS to Denmark for further development of the system.

Hans Christian Krarup, engineer and technical consultant, has followed the work with the WADS for quite some time. He is convinced of the advantage of continuing the development in Denmark.

’It is very expensive to continue development of the WADS in Angola. In Denmark it is easier to create controlled test areas so that the test measurements are reliable,’ says Hans Christian Krarup.

Improve the system

He underlines that in many cases soil conditions cause much background noise in the measurements. In Denmark it is easier to obtain ‘clean’ measurement results. At the same time, geophysical and mine-technical experts are close at hand.

’So far, development of WADS has been a success. Experience from the field in Angola is indispensable. The WADS is so far, by far the best and most promising concept for mine clearance along roads,’ says Hans Christian Krarup.

The WADS is using the latest GPS technology combined with sensors that can detect the metal in the landmines deeper in the soil than so far possible.

By detecting the mines with an accuracy of ten centimetres the work of the mine clearers is made much easier when the mine must be removed manually. The biggest advantage is that many kilometres of mine-free road can be checked and declared safe very fast.

‘One of the biggest disadvantages of the system is that it is not tuned to detect landmines with a very small quantity of metal, e.g. anti-personnel mines. The next development phase should fine-tune and standardise the measurement in order to make the mine clearance both faster and more reliable. We hope to use the WADS in many other countries when it is fully developed,’ says Henrik Stubkjær, DanChurchAid General Secretary.

© DanChurchAid

Land for returnees

Back in Angola, DanChurchAid continues the important manual mine clearance and information about mine danger as usual.

Very soon, an area of 65,000 square metres in Luena in eastern Angola will be released. It was full of landmines and unexploded ordnance, and DanChurchAid’s mine clearers have dug through every centimetre.

New houses will be built for about 60 families, all returnees from the civil war. Here, at the former front, they will begin a new life.

Based on an article written by journalist Peter Høvring ( ph@dca.dk ), published on www.noedhjaelp.dk , 31 October 2006. Translated and edited by Gulli Jakobsen.