Heroic Rats Sniff Out Landmines In Africa, May Save Thousands Of Lives Worldwide

[polly7]

May 30, 2015 by Amanda Froelich

These trained rats can effectively search 200 square meters in 20 minutes, saving plenty of time and thousands of lives.

Rats are a rodent you either adore or are can’t stand… But soon their stereotypical nature may be discarded, as a Belgian-based NGO is training the little critters to do a job that has potential to save thousands of lives every year, worldwide.

APOPO, the Belgian NGO, has been training giant African pouched rats to detect land mines since 1997; and soon, they believe, the rodents will be put to work detecting explosives elsewhere around the world.

Since the NGO was formed, it has been training rats to effectively search 200 square meters in 20 minutes. This is a stark difference from the 25 operational hours it takes humans with mine detectors to do the same.

And what may be most impressive is that no heroic rats have yet been harmed in the line of duty. Again, this is a grand contrast from the 9 mine-related human casualties reported per day in 2013.



http://www.trueactivist.com/heroic-rats-sniff-out-landmines-in-africa-may-save-thousands-of-lives-worldwide/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TrueActivist+%28True+Activist%29


The legacy of land-mines


Photo: Land-mines are catastrophic for children, whose small bodies are particularly vulnerable to the injuries they inflict. One of the mosts heavily mined countries in the world is Afghanistan. ©

Of all the weapons that have accumulated over years of war, few are more persistent and more lethal to children than land-mines . Hundreds of thousands of children, herding animals, planting crops or just playing, have been killed or maimed by these deadly devices.

Since 1975, land-mines have exploded under more than 1 million people and are currently thought to be killing 800 people a month. There seems little prospect of any end to the carnage. In 64 countries around the world, there are an estimated 110 million land-mines still lodged in the ground—waiting.50 They remain active for decades. As one Khmer Rouge general put it, a land-mine is a perfect soldier: "Ever courageous, never sleeps, never misses."

There are basically two types of land-mines: anti-tank and anti-personnel. The most dangerous to children are the anti-personnel mines that explode even under the gentle pressure of a child's hand or foot. These come in a bewildering array of shapes and colours. Some look like stones, others like pineapples. But all can seem an interesting discovery for a curious child. One of the most infamous is the 'butterfly' mine, designed to float to the ground from helicopters without exploding, but with a shape and colour that also make it a deadly toy.

Virtually all combatants use land-mines. During the Persian Gulf war, the US and its allies laid about 1 million mines along the Iraq-Kuwait border and around the Iraqi city of Basra. And some 3 million have been laid in the continuing Balkan war. Some of the largest numbers lie in wait in Africa and Asia. The countries most devastated by land-mines are probably Afghanistan, Angola and Cambodia. Afghanistan has an estimated 10-15 million mines in place.51 It is clear that many of these have been randomly scattered in inhabited areas precisely to cause civilian casualties and terrorize the population.52

http://www.unicef.org/sowc96/9ldmines.htm


Treaty in Detail

Sometimes referred to as the Ottawa Convention, the Mine Ban Treaty is officially titled: the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. It was adopted in 1997 and it entered into force on 1 March 1999.

Landmine Monitor

Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor (the Monitor), is the innovative civil society research and monitoring arm of the ICBL-CMC and provides the most up-to-date and relevant information on, and assessment of, the international community’s response to the problems caused by landmines, cluster munitions, and other explosive remnants of war.

The Monitor has provided this service to the international community since 1998. It produces annual online and/or hard copy publications of Landmine Monitor, Cluster Munition Monitor, Major Findings of Landmine Monitor and Cluster Munition Monitor reports, individual country profiles for all countries of the world and the disputed areas, as well as topical and thematic Fact Sheets. It is renowned for its independent and impartial reporting, and its researchers and editors are internationally recognized and unbiased experts.

Click here to visit the Monitor website.

http://www.icbl.org/en-gb/resources/landmine-monitor.aspx


The Issues

Convention on Cluster Munitions

The Convention on Cluster Munitions was adopted by 107 countries on 30 May 2008 in Dublin, Ireland. The convention was opened for signature on 3 December 2008, and as of 20 March 2014 had been joined by 113 states and had 84 States Parties. The convention entered into force on 1 August 2010, six months after the 30th state submitted its instrument of ratification.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibits all use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions. It also provides countries with deadlines for clearance of affected areas and the destruction of stockpiled cluster munitions. It includes articles concerning assistance to victims of cluster munitions incidents.

Under the Convention on Cluster Munitions States Parties will be obligated to:

destroy their stockpile of cluster munitions within eight years of entry into force (Article 3);
undertake to clear and destroy cluster munition remnants located in cluster munition contaminated areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 10 years after becoming a State Party (Article 4);
provide age- and gender-sensitive assistance to cluster munition victims, including medical care, rehabilitation and psychological support, as well as provide for their social and economic inclusion (Article 5); and
submit annual reports on the Convention on Cluster Munitions implementation activities Secretary-General of the United Nations (Article 7).

Click here for the full text of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Impact of Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War

Landmines, unexploded submunitions, and explosive remnants of war (ERW) all pose a serious and ongoing threat to civilians. During and after conflicts, these weapons can be found on roads, footpaths, farmer’s fields, forests, deserts, along borders, in and surrounding houses and schools, and in other places where people carry out their daily activities. They can deny access to food, water, and other basic needs, and inhibit freedom of movement, limiting people’s ability to participate in education or access medical care. Mine and ERW contamination may also prevent the repatriation of refugees and internally displaced people, and hamper the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Mine and ERW-affected countries incur costs related to clearing mines, destroying stockpiles, and providing assistance to mine and ERW survivors. More generally, development and post-conflict reconstruction are hindered when access to resources is limited and when people sustain serious, long-term injuries due to mines and ERW.

http://www.the-monitor.org/index.php/LM/The-Issues/Impact

[Fred Sanders]

1. The only nations to use cluster munitions recently are Israel, Saudi or other American proxies.

Kind of ironic that it takes real rats to sniff out the product of human rats.



WASHINGTON — Global investments in the manufacture of cluster bombs and related munitions rose over the past year, despite the existence of an international convention against the use or production of these weapons. More than half of the institutions involved in those investments are based in the United States.

From 2011 to 2014, an estimated 151 financial institutions invested at least $27 billion in companies that produce weapons considered by rights groups to be prohibited by the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which entered into effect in 2010. This new estimate, from PAX, a Dutch watchdog group, constitutes a $3 billion increase from just last year.

While it is unclear what exactly is driving that increase, rights groups have reported on the recent use of cluster munitions in both eastern Ukraine and, particularly, Syria.

“We’re seeing an increase in the total value of investment from just a year ago, so that’s a big disappointment,” Amy Little, a campaign manager at the Cluster Munition Coalition, a global advocacy network that includes PAX, told MintPress News.

http://www.mintpressnews.com/america-steps-up-investment-in-global-cluster-bomb-trade/199431/

[polly7]

2. Thank you for this additional information Fred. nt.

[Jefferson23]

3. Outstanding and fascinating.

The little collars are a riot, btw.

[polly7]

4. I know, aren't they cute :)

Gives me a whole new respect for rats - I'd never heard of them doing anything useful before (yes, this is outstanding!), apart from being used in laboratories.

[Jefferson23]

5. Same here, only the lab use. This brings them to a much higher status, well deserved.

They are big too..wow.

[Skittles]

12. very smart critters, they are

[catnhatnh]

6. Heroic?

an·thro·po·mor·phism
ˌanTHrəpəˈmôrfizəm/
noun
the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.

[Jefferson23]

7. They're certainly more humble than humans. :)

[catnhatnh]

8. Humble?

an·thro·po·mor·phism
ˌanTHrəpəˈmôrfizəm/
noun
the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.

[Jefferson23]

9. lol Alrighty. n/t

[catnhatnh]

10. Almighty?

Whoops-never mind....

[polly7]

11. Of course.

They just don't know it.