ELSINORE, Denmark, July 2 (Reuter) - Danish and United Nations organisers of an international conference on mine-clearing said on Tuesday that private industry must do more to win the battle against land mines.
There are about 110 million active mines around the world and for every one cleared, 20 new devices are sown, the U.N. says, killing and maiming civilians and causing hunger and economic disarray by making farmland unusable.
"I would argue that land-mines are the greatest man-made disaster of our times," U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Yasushi Akashi told delegates at the opening of the three-day conference.
Danish Developmental Aid Minister Poul Nielson said existing mine-clearing methods, often still as basic as a man with a stick, were insufficient to clear the vast backlog.
"If an appropriate, small-scale, low-cost, technically feasible, safe, sure and easy to operate mine detectors for all types of mines can be developed, there will be large amounts of aid funds available to speed up clearance operations," he said.
"There might be a lot more profit than can be imagined," Akashi told reporters.
Nielson told a news conference that a range of solutions was needed for different types of mine and conditions.
"The question is our ability to attract real attention from companies globally to change the emphasis from a military mine-clearing philosophy to a humanitarian one," he said.
The Elsinore conference is about humanitarian mine clearing, the process of reclaiming mine-contaminated land for agriculture and safe habitation.
Military mine-clearing has different aims, generally the opening of a path through a mined area in order to reach an objective, which requires a lesser degree of clearance.
At an exhibition of equipment accompanying the conference, most items were modern refinments of tools developed during World War Two; metal detectors, flails and ploughs for mounting on armoured vehicles, protective body armour and weight-diffusing overshoes.
At the cutting edge of mine detection, Swedish and South African firms have developed technology to detect hard-to-find metal-free mines, even in dense foliage, by sensing the vapours from explosive charges.
Ground penetrating radar and laser or thermal-imaging detection systems are also on the market, but much of the equipment is too expensive and complicated to buy or operate in developing countries.
Akashi said that despite post-cold war hopes for widespread conversion of military industries to civil applications little had so far been achieved.
"Human beings are much better at destruction, rather than removing the threat of destruction," he said.
Delegates from 48 countries are attending the conference, which has the twin aims of identifying and promoting new mine-clearing technology and drafting an international standard for safe and thorough clearance.