The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) and APOPO, a non-profit organisation that trains African giant pouched rats to save lives by detecting landmines, have reached a Memorandum of Understanding on Mine Detection Rat and Technical Survey Dog (TSD).
The signing ceremony was held on Dec. 9 at the CMAC’s headquarters in Phnom Penh. H.E. Heng Ratana, Director General of CMAC and Mr. Michael Raine, Programme Manager of APOPO, were the signatories.
According to CMAC, this is a six-month project that will be started from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2025, in Siem Reap and Preah Vihear provinces.
CMAC will be deploying landmine clearance teams, including an animal detection system, at target locations based on Integrated WorkPlan 2025.
CMAC and APOPO have been working together as partners for nearly 11 years to carry out the mine clearance programme using a detection animal system.
During this 11-year period of cooperation, CMAC and APOPO have cleared nearly 5,000 hectares of land and found and destroyed 52,323 unexploded ordnance.
