Contamination and Impact

Overall Mine Action Performance: GOOD[1]

Mines

The Republic of Croatia is affected by mines and—to a much lesser extent—explosive remnants of war (ERW) including cluster munitions remnants, a legacy of four years of armed conflict associated with the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. The Croatian Mine Action Centre (CROMAC) reported that in May 2014 a total of 610km² in 88 municipalities was still suspected hazardous area (SHA), of which mined areas accounted for all but 5.9km² (which contained only unexploded ordnance [UXO]).[2]

In 2014, Croatia conducted new general (non-technical) and technical survey on military facilities, resulting in suspected mined area of 32.4km². Almost 31.4km² of the area is on military training sites. This is a much higher figure than the previously reported figure of 2.5km².[3] CROMAC believes the mined areas in the military facilities are not included in their overall SHA of 610km².[4] Croatia has also identified areas on its border with Hungary to be cleared as part of a cross-border cooperation program.[5] The total SHA has not been publicly reported.

Twelve of Croatia’s 20 counties remain affected,[6] although Croatia expected to complete clearance in two counties—Dubrovnik-Neretva and Vidovici—in 2014.[7] Two-thirds of contaminated area (67%) is in forests, 19% in agricultural land, and 14% is in karst (rocky limestone areas) and macchia (shrubland).[8] Priorities for clearance are agricultural land, forests with economic potential, and national parks.[9]

Croatia was affected by the Balkan flood disaster in May 2014. On 23 May, CROMAC met with the directors of the mine action centers of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to “analyse the situation in our countries and to agree about the future actions and cooperation immediately after land dries.” CROMAC experts worked in the field with the National Crisis Center to provide risk education to emergency response personnel. As of this writing, Croatia had not allocated any emergency funding for mine action or made any changes to the annual plan. CROMAC did, however, identify three flood-affected SHAs of particular concern. Gunja Municipality, located on the banks of the River Sava, has an SHA of 162,017m², which will need to be cleared before the embankment can be reconstructed. In Vrbanja Municipality, CROMAC expressed concern that mines from the 0.66km² SHA could be washed into previously demined lower-lying areas, saying: “The exact affected area is not easy to estimate because of unpredictability of the influx of the flood waters.” The Somovac forest along the border with Serbia in Nijemci Municipality has an SHA of 1.4km². CROMAC estimates that the cost of demining the flood-affected SHAs will be €4 million.[10]

Cluster munition contamination

Croatia has areas contaminated mainly by KB-1 and MK-1 type cluster munition remnants left over from the conflict in the 1990s following the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. By the end of 2014, these covered an area of almost 3.5km² across five counties, but the majority of contamination (90%) is located in three counties: Zadar (46%), Split-Dalmatia (22%), and Lika-Senj (22%).[11]

Cluster munition contamination (as of May 2014)[12]

Croatia reported that while “large areas” of contaminated by cluster munitions were cleared in 2013, there was little change in the overall total of contaminated area due to the identification of new confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs) though technical survey (TS) in Karlovac county.[13]

Other explosive remnants of war

CROMAC also reported contamination by other UXO at the end of 2012 amounting to only 2.82km². Explosions at a munitions storage facility in Pađane (near Knin) in September 2011 scattered UXO over the surrounding countryside, but military teams had reportedly cleared all the areas outside the facility by the end of 2012.[14]

Mine Action Program

CROMAC was established on 19 February 1998 as the umbrella organization for mine action coordination.[15] CROMAC had 143 employees in early 2014.[16] The CROMAC Council, an oversight and strategic planning body, consists of a president, appointed by the Prime Minister, and 10 members, appointed from the Ministry of Defense, Finance, and Interior, as well as eminent persons. The council meets at least four times a year.[17]

In April 2012, the government created the Office for Mine Action (OMA), reporting to the Prime Minister’s office, to function as a focal point for mine action, strengthening coordination among stakeholders and funding agencies, and raising public awareness about mine hazards.[18] The OMA includes a Unit for European Union (EU) Funds tasked with promoting access of the mine action sector to a range of EU funds expected to become available as part of Croatia’s EU membership.[19] The establishment of the OMA has elevated the status of mine action as the OMA can “politically pressure the government and international actors” in ways that CROMAC, as a technical body, can not.[20]

A Law on Humanitarian Demining was adopted in 2005 and entered into force on 5 January 2006.[21] A 2007 amendment to the law elaborated responsibilities and human resource requirements, and a second amendment in 2008 clarified responsibilities for quality control.[22] The law assigns the Croatian Army responsibility for clearing all military areas.[23] In 2014, Croatia was in the process of drafting a new demining law; specific provisions were still under negotiation but were expected to bring standards more in line with the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS), enabling use of new TS methods to reduce confirmed mined areas and release land.[24]

CROMAC founded the Centre for Testing, Development and Training (CTDT) in 2003, a state-owned company accredited to test and certify machines, mine detection dogs (MDDs), metal detectors, personal protective equipment, and prodders. CTDT also engages in research, training, and development of clearance and survey techniques and technologies.[25] Basic training of deminers is conducted by the Croatian Police Academy, but CTDT offers management-level training in mine action.[26] CTDT has said that its enforcement of testing requirements has improved the quality of clearance equipment over the last few years.[27]

Strategic planning

Croatia’s 2008 Article 5 deadline extension request set out annual demining targets and strategic goals, including elimination of any mine threat to housing and to areas planned for the return of displaced people by 2010, to infrastructure by 2011, to agricultural land by 2013, and to forest areas by 2018.[28] While clearance of the mine threat to housing and infrastructure is now complete, Croatia missed its target on agricultural land; by the end of 2013, 19% of the total SHA was agricultural land.[29]

As a result of conditions for earlier World Bank funding, Croatia has an unusually commercialized mine action sector, with almost all civil clearance conducted by local companies competing for tenders. CROMAC believes this model of privatized clearance is “faster, cheaper and more efficient.”[30] Much of foreign donor funding is tendered by ITF Enhancing Security, while CROMAC manages tendering for government, World Bank, and EU money according to the Law on Public Procurement.[31] Croatia without Mines, a trust fund, raises money from private sources.[32]

The exception to the commercial tendering system is the state-owned enterprise, MUNGOS, which is directly assigned enough tasks by CROMAC—mostly emergency clearance and particularly complex tasks—to keep it solvent while it slowly phases down operations.[33] NGOs are barred from competing for commercial tenders as CROMAC sees their subsidy by other funds as “unfair.”[34]

There are relatively low barriers to entry in the mine clearance market and so there is considerable fragmentation. In 2013, a total of 38 demining companies employed 609 deminers (an average of fewer than 17 deminers per company), using 20 MDDs, 48 demining machines, and 670 detectors.[35] Of the 26 companies operational in 2013, 19 each cleared less than 5% of the total area cleared in Croatia. Seven firms cleared less than 1% of the total area cleared, and no company cleared more than 14%. The size and timeframes of CROMAC’s tenders mean a successful bid often requires joint ventures and subcontracting. Operators expressed the view that this creates coordination problems across the many consortium partners and subcontractors.[36]

The average net price of mine clearance dropped in 2013 to HRK6.15 (approx. US$1.10) per square meter from HRK7.66 (approx. US$1.40) in 2012.[37] This makes it difficult for firms to make a profit on clearance. Larger firms claim they are hampered by earlier overinvestment in mechanical assets and equipment based on assumptions that funding would match the levels outlined in the 2009–2019 mine action strategy.[38] Some companies have sought to diversify with operations outside Croatia, but given the relatively higher wages of Croatian deminers, find it difficult to compete for tenders.[39]

In 2013, the OMA raised concerns of “price dumping” by smaller and less established firms aiming to gain a market share by underbidding on tenders. According to the OMA director as cited in the press in 2013, “Some companies are indeed playing a very dirty game here.”[40] A trade union member also raised concerns about this practice, saying that “Whoever offers the lowest price gets the job. That comes at the expense of worker safety.”[41] However, CROMAC stated that it “can’t do anything” about companies price dumping, except by making sure they pay their salaries and taxes and maintain standards in clearance, and by encouraging other government agencies to monitor compliance with relevant laws.[42]

The Croatian demining community faced a labor dispute in 2013, with deminers raising concerns about pay and working conditions[43] and a significant number going on strike.[44] However, the dispute was resolved through a new collective bargaining agreement that would raise salaries pending an increase in the demining budget.[45] In another possible indication of labor discontent, many small firms are apparently started by deminers dissatisfied with working for larger companies.[46]

Land Release

Croatia released a total of 71.9km² of mined area in 2013, slightly more than in the previous two years (67.3km² in 2012; and 70.4km² in 2011). A total of 32.3km² was released through clearance, which was marginally higher than in 2012 (30.5km²) and 2011 (27.7km²); 39.56km² was through general survey and TS (36.79km² in 2012; and 42.69km² in 2011).[47]

Release of mined areas in 2013[48]

Land release was 54% of the amount foreseen for the year in the 2009–2019 mine action strategy; clearance was 59% of target while survey was 51% of target.

In the Hungary-Croatia cross-border clearance program, Croatia cleared 1.56km² from its side of the border in 2013; it has cleared a total of 7km² along this border over the previous years.[49]

Some 1.5km² of clearance in 2013 resulted in no mines being found.

Mine clearance in 2013[50]

Clearance has remained fairly consistent over the past five years.

Mine clearance in 2009–2013 (km²)

Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the 10-year extension granted by States Parties in 2008), Croatia is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2019.

 There is broad skepticism in the Croatian mine action community that it will complete clearance by this date,[51] and general agreement that the program is operating significantly below capacity. It is still asserted that human resources and assets could enable full clearance by the Article 5 deadline,[52] and that lack of funding is the primary obstacle, with the climate of government austerity reducing national funding as well as the amount of private demining contracts.[53] CROMAC stated that when the 2009–2019 strategy was developed—which envisioned an increase in national funding—it did not anticipate the impact of the global financial crisis on the national budget; meanwhile, “donor funds are dropping rapidly.”[54]

CROMAC estimates Croatia will need €300–350 million to fulfill the aims of the 2009–2019 mine action strategy, of which half is “somewhat guaranteed” in the government budget. CROMAC is nonetheless “optimistic” Croatia will secure much of the balance from the EU.[55]

Besides increased funding, CROMAC believes that new techniques and technology offered best hope for speeding up survey and clearance. CROMAC stated that the current demining law constrains use of technical survey. CROMAC hopes the new law will enable area reduction according to international standards. For instance, the total CHA is currently 302km², but CROMAC estimates this can be reduced to 80km² with better survey techniques.[56]

Clearance of cluster munition-contaminated areas in 2013

In 2013, Croatia reported clearance of approximately 1.15km², approximately 50% more area than in the previous year, and destroyed 164 submunitions.[57] In the process, it said it had completely cleared two counties, Dubrovnik-Neretva and Sisak-Moslavina, as well as an area around the town of Nin and Krka national park.[58]

Note : U-SUB = unexploded submunitions

Compliance with Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Croatia is required to destroy all cluster munition remnants as soon as possible, but not later than 1 August 2020.

In its Article 7 report of 2014, Croatia reported it had approximately 3.45km² of cluster munitions contamination remaining to be cleared in the six years before reaching its article 4 deadline, a reduction of 0.58km² from the estimate of contamination at the end of 2013.[59]

Support for Mine Action

In 2013, international donors provided US$4.6 million to mine action. Croatian companies provided HRK41 million (almost US$7.2 million) of which Croatian Forests contributed HRK30 million (more than US$5.3 million). A further HRK7.96 million (almost US$1.4 million) came from private donors and companies within Croatia.[60]

Croatia is no longer receiving mine action funds from the World Bank and does not expect to do so in the future. Despite its entry into the EU, in 2013 and 2014 Croatia was still receiving money from the EU under its Instrument of Pre-accession Assistance. CROMAC believes that funding will increase in the coming years as it will be able to access EU Structural and Cohesion Funds. Croatia is currently negotiating with the EU for a 2014–2020 tranche of funds that include a proposal for €25 million for mine clearance of forestland in Eastern Slavonia (including a national park) and €2 million for a cross-border project with Hungary. These are intended as pilot projects that, if successful, would be replicated elsewhere.[61]

Recommendations

·         Continue to seek new sources of donor funding, including but not limited to the EU.

·         Continue investigation, assessment, and adoption of new survey and clearance technologies and operational techniques.

·         Better regulate the commercial tendering process to discourage the fragmentation of the demining market by issuing longer-term tenders that allow companies to hedge against contingencies and make best use of operational assets and human resources.