BY JOHN HOUANIHAU

Over 77 percent of the areas contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO), identified by HALO so far, are used for housing or agriculture.

However, according to the HALO Solomon Islands progress report from June 2023 to 2025, there is currently no national provision for the clearance of areas used for these purposes.

HALO Trust works to identify and remove explosives in the Solomon Islands, improving safety and access to vital resources.

Based on the three-year report, since operations began, HALO has identified 686 suspected hazardous areas requiring sub-surface search covering over 22,038,023 square metres.

The report indicated that the average size of each area is approximately 33,000 square metres, which is deliberately intended to be small enough for a small team of less than a dozen to clear within two-three months.

HALO uses a prioritisation system to establish the priority level for clearance in the future.

The report found that land used for housing, farming and community has the highest humanitarian priority for clearance under HALO’s system.

According to the report, the non-technical survey (NTS) is at the core of HALO’s current activities in the Solomon Islands.

It involves a thorough investigation of all available information about possible explosive ordnance contamination, without the use of any physical intervention in a suspected hazardous area.

The HALO Trust reported that the NTS process includes desk assessments, analysis of historical records and physical visits to the area.

According to the report, the process revolves around identifying, accessing, collecting, reporting and using evidence to help define where UXO is to be found, as well as where it is not.

This supports future clearance decision-making processes and is the first step in the process of releasing land safely back to communities.

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