Impact of humanitarian mine clearances on tropical forest carbon storage

由于地雷和未爆弹药的存在，大片热带和亚热带森林被认为受到保护，不受人类压力的影响。随着各国履行清除地雷和未爆弹药的法律义务，大片森林正在被开放用于发展，这对它们的未来构成了风险--在已经发生这种情况的地方，有传闻称森林已经被清除。利用地球观测数据，该项目将评估人道主义排雷行动对越南热带森林和周围社区贫困的历史影响，同时确定受未爆弹药保护地区储存的碳量。该项目将有助于我们了解未爆弹药清除的预期和非预期后果，为清除后森林保护和发展做法的设计提供信息，并可在未来在全球应用。

Large areas of tropical and sub-tropical forests are thought to be protected from human pressures owing to the presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). As countries fulfil their legal obligations to remove landmines and UXO, large areas of forest are being opened up for development, presenting a risk to their future - where this has happened already, there are anecdotal reports suggesting that forest has been cleared. Using Earth observation data, this project will assess the historical impact of humanitarian mine action on the tropical forests of Vietnam and on the poverty of surrounding communities, whilst determining the amount of carbon stored in areas protected by UXO. The project will contribute to our understanding of the intended and unintended consequences of UXO clearance, informing the design of post-clearance forest conservation and development practices and could be applied globally in the future.