Mine Action, unfortunately, is often in direct competition for resources as other development issues such as health, sustainable economic development, and the environment. However, many of the governments in the region have set up dedicated sources of funding specifically for mine action goals. If we are to keep treating Mine Action as a stand-alone issue, it distances the issue from very closely related development issues where we could find good outlets to tap into other sources of funding. If we are not able to connect mine action with similar developmental issues, mine action could be marginalized. We also have to find ways where we can tap into broader development funds in manners that we haven't necessarily done yet. In order to do that, we need to integrate mine action into longer term development planning.

Mine action is a very important health issue. The way to help mine victims is to strengthen health care facilities and the health care infrastructure overall. Landmines are an agricultural issue; farmers cannot return their land to agricultural use if there is even a risk that there are landmines in the area. Obviously, landmines are a pressing economic and social issue, people can't return to their jobs if commerce cannot be conducted because roads are mined and community resources cannot be accessed. If coherent linkages and arguments are made in a very crosscutting scope that mine action is not just an issue in one part of the spectrum, new funding resources could be tapped to make mine action resources more sustainable.

Speaking on behalf of donor countries, certainly it is up to us to understand what kind of opportunities are out there. We must consult with other governments and find opportunities that maybe haven't been explored until now. There is the potential for private sector funding, the critical role that civil society plays, but most importantly, there are the mine affected states themselves. There is nothing that is more effective than affected states working mine action into their own priorities and development plans to the extent that they are able to. If this is all done appropriately we have better coordination, more effective communication and more potential for sustainability in dealing with the challenges.

These kinds of connections will not only result in more funding, but also in better programs because there has been a more rigorous analysis of the kind of linkages we're trying to make. This is a very logical extension in the whole approach we have tried to adopt internationally. We have very dedicated partnerships between States, civil society, international organizations and very dedicated individuals. One place that we could really improve is making connections with the broader development community, who perhaps hasn't gotten a chance to play the kind of role they might be able to.

Given the success in the Americas, this region can serve as a model for other regions. There doesn't seem to be any reason why we can't make even further in roads with the OAS and other governments, from a development standpoint, and really broaden the base from which we are working in order to achieve the goals we have set.