Sida’s Contributions to Humanitarian Mine Action Final Report

The report finds that Sida's support for Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) has been fragmented and ad hoc, heavily prioritizing mine clearance (85% of funding) over other essential components like impact assessment and survey. While Sida has been a major global donor, its funding trended downward after 1998. The evaluation highlights a 'quiet revolution' in HMA, shifting from output-based measures (mines removed) to impact-based measures (societal effect), and argues that Sida must institutionalize impact assessment to ensure sustainable, development-oriented assistance. It analyzes various implementation channels, noting that NGOs are flexible and innovative but struggle with long-term sustainability, while government/military channels offer better sustainability but may lack humanitarian sensitivity. The report also critiques Sida's R&D and technical initiatives, such as the Mine Detection Dog project in Cambodia, for failing to base needs on local stakeholders and lacking sustainability.

• Sida's approach to Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) has been characterized as fragmented and ad hoc, lacking a cohesive policy position and relying on year-by-year decision-making.
• Sida has heavily prioritized mine clearance over other HMA activities, with approximately 85% of its contributions from 1991 to 1999 allocated to clearance.
• There is a global shift in HMA from 'output' measurements (number of mines lifted or area cleared) to 'impact' measurements (the variable effects of mines on human populations).
• Sida has not funded the development of impact-assessment methodologies despite supporting the general reorientation toward impact-centered HMA.
• NGOs are effective implementation channels due to their flexibility and innovation, but they often fail to build sustainable local organizations or coordinate with non-HMA humanitarian initiatives.
• Government and military implementation channels provide a stronger basis for sustainable national capacity, provided the government is committed, but they may struggle to integrate a broader humanitarian agenda.
• Mine Action Centres (MACs) are generally effective as coordination bodies but often exercise excessive control, which can hinder innovation and the development of viable national organizations.
• Coordination between HMA and other humanitarian or development efforts is generally poor, as mine action is still largely viewed as a specialized technical sector.
• Swedish R&D projects in demining machines and multisensors were largely unsuccessful because they were driven by entrepreneurial interests rather than field-based needs and were often too cumbersome for practical use.
• The Swedish Mine Detection Dog (MDD) project in Cambodia failed due to poor institutional arrangements, low transparency, and a lack of integration with the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC).
• Sida's secondment of technical experts is viewed as successful for visibility and influence, but it risks sustainability if capacity-building for local counterparts is not explicitly mandated.

APA

Harpviken, K. B., Millard, A. S., Kjellman, K. E., & Strand, A. (2001). Sida’s Contributions to Humanitarian Mine Action Final Report. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/85c28ff7-18f0-466f-8b42-54116432e096/Sidas Contributions to Humanitarian Mine Action.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Harpviken, Kristian Berg, Ananda S. Millard, Kjell Erling Kjellman, and Arne Strand. Sida’s Contributions to Humanitarian Mine Action Final Report. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2001. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/85c28ff7-18f0-466f-8b42-54116432e096/Sidas Contributions to Humanitarian Mine Action.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Harpviken |first1=Kristian Berg |last2=Millard |first2=Ananda S. |last3=Kjellman |first3=Kjell Erling |last4=Strand |first4=Arne |title=Sida’s Contributions to Humanitarian Mine Action Final Report |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=2001 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/85c28ff7-18f0-466f-8b42-54116432e096/Sidas Contributions to Humanitarian Mine Action.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{harpviken2001sidas, author = {Harpviken, Kristian Berg and Millard, Ananda S. and Kjellman, Kjell Erling and Strand, Arne}, title = {{Sida’s Contributions to Humanitarian Mine Action Final Report}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2001}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/85c28ff7-18f0-466f-8b42-54116432e096/Sidas Contributions to Humanitarian Mine Action.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }