Angola Invests $60mn In For Mine Clearance

The Government of Angola and the HALO Trust have announced a new conservation initiative focused on landmine clearance.

The announcement was made in London, with Minister for the Environment Paula Coelho stating that that the government is investing $60 million in the initiative over a period of five years. The initiatives target landmine clearance in the Angolan Okavango watershed.

The Duke of Sussex was in attendance at the event and is quoted as stating, "Angola has some of the world’s most important remaining wilderness that is critical to biodiversity and an asset that should be protected, celebrated and benefited by its people. I was told just the other day of the positive transformation in Huambo since my mother walked that minefield all those years ago. What is less well-known is the impact landmines can have on conservation and wildlife, and therefore the economy."

The HALO Trust has been working in Angola since 1994. Since then it has destroyed more than 95,000 landmines and cleared 840 minefields. It is estimated that 1,155 minefields are still to be cleared in the country.

Angola has previously committed to the 1997 Landmine Ban Treaty, which commits the country to clearing all landmines on its territory by 2025.