Ambassador Bass marked the completion of mine clearance in Tusheti Protected Areas
On December 6, Ambassador John Bass marked the completion of mine clearance inTusheti Protected Areas at the Ministry of Environment. Ambassador Bass was joinedby Giorgi Shonvadze and Tamar Pataridze of the Agency of Protected Areas, and TomMeredith of HALO Trust.
In the summer of 2011, with approximately $100,000 in support from the U.S.Department of State, HALO cleared a large minefield in Tusheti Protected Areas closeto Georgia’s northern border with Russia. Anti-Personnel (AP) mines were scatteredthere from the air in 1999, creating widespread risks.
Tusheti Protected Areas is only accessible during the summer, and HALO worked hard to clear over 50 hectares ofcontaminated land from June to September 2011. While conducting manual mineclearance with metal detectors, HALO teams found and safely destroyed eight PFM-1 APmines. Many of the scattered mines landed on steep ground close to inhabited or grazingareas. HALO used mountaineering equipment and belaying techniques to ensure thesafety of operational staff when working on, or close to steep terrain.
During clearance, bronze and iron arrow heads, brooches and other archaeologicalartifacts were also discovered through the use of metal detectors, all of which werecarefully recorded and handed over to the Georgian Agency for Protected Areas.
Tusheti Protected Areas is a place of great cultural and historic importance to Georgia,as well as an area of outstanding beauty. In 2011, over 9,000 visitors came to Tusheti,many of whom walked to the Keselo towers and Zemo Omalo village, land cleared byHALO.