UNDP: Debris and Explosive Ordnance – A Guide 2026


This guidance provides a practical framework for managing debris contaminated with explosive ordnance in post-conflict environments, particularly in densely populated urban areas.

Recognizing that debris removal at scale is primarily a civil engineering activity, the guidance outlines how explosive ordnance risk can be effectively managed through targeted EOD support rather than full clearance. It emphasizes that debris management is inherently not risk-free and promotes a risk-based approach informed by systematic operational data. Drawing on lessons from multiple conflict settings, the guidance supports practitioners in balancing safety considerations with the urgent need for rapid debris removal to enable humanitarian access, early recovery, and reconstruction.

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Source: United Nations Development Programme


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