Manual mine clearance is the fundamental tenet of mine action, yet has never been thoroughly analysed. The GICHD has managed a study into manual mine clearance analysing the history, management, methodologies and systems in use, risk assessment and risk management of the process and product and costings of manual mine clearance programmes. The report published shows that, whilst safety has improved significantly since the early days of mine clearance, there are still room for improvements in many areas.

The study identifies positive examples of innovation and novel techniques that improve productivity and ultimately value for the donor and end user of the land. It presents a risk cost benefit model for consideration for the wider community and makes recommendations for a change of approach to accept a certain degree of risk.