This is highly significant when the land being cleared is to be restored to agricultural use. After all, a key measure of the success of mine action is not just the number of land mines and UXO cleared, but the amount of land restored to productive use, so that a nation's infrastructure can be restored, its economy revitalized and refugees and internally displaced persons may safely resume a normal way of life. The mine detection dog is also very cost-effective. Therefore, the combination of dogs and trained local handlers and deminers, with appropriately tailored support equipment, frequently offers the best mix of components to create an optimal demining capability. Finally, the cultural differences found among the various mine-affected countries in the world are not an impediment to the institution of a mine detection dog program.
All dogs speak the same language.
Highly effective dog programs have been successfully implemented for, example, in Afghanistan, Rwanda, Mozambique and Bosnia. In each country, indigenous deminers and dog- handlers were trained and used successfully. I note that at the Conference are participants representing virtually every major mine detection dog user, trainer, or provider, as well as countries who currently use dogs, have used dogs in the past, or are considering using dogs in the future. The presence of so many knowledgeable and experienced individuals bodes well for successful outcomes as we address the various items on our very full Agenda. The synergistic benefits for mine action of such integration are obvious.