Ukraine presented a systematic approach to humanitarian demining at the UMAC 2025 conference in Japan
24.10.2025
On October 22-23, the annual international conference UMAC 2025 was held in Tokyo, bringing together governments, international organizations, mine action operators, technology companies and donors from over 50 countries around the world.
This year's event focuses on the theme of the future after demining - how combining human potential, innovation and partnerships can help clear territories faster and create conditions for safe and sustainable lives.
During the conference, partner countries announced support for humanitarian demining in Ukraine totaling over $80 million. New support packages for Ukraine were provided by Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and Sweden. Japan announced a new assistance package for the long-term reconstruction of Ukraine and the reintegration of victims, with an emphasis on a safe return to peaceful life.
During the panel discussion "Creating and Expanding Business Opportunities," Volodymyr Bayda, Director of the Humanitarian Demining Center, presented the Ukrainian model of development of the sector - transparent, market-based, and innovative.
He emphasized that effective demining is possible only under conditions of systemic management and an open market that combines state coordination, business participation, and support from international partners.
The scale of contaminated areas in Ukraine requires a full-fledged humanitarian demining market. That is why we created a program to compensate for the costs of clearing agricultural land, which allowed us to transform humanitarian demining from a purely technical process into an economically motivated activity,” –
Volodymyr Bayda noted.
The compensation program implemented by the Center has become a practical tool for forming the humanitarian demining market. Thanks to it, farmers receive reimbursement for land clearance costs, and operators receive stable demand and transparent working conditions. This approach has made it possible to move from individual projects to a large-scale system of territory clearance. Over 5.4 thousand hectares have already been returned to safe use under the compensation program. 18 PMD operators are clearing agricultural lands, including 2 representative offices of international PMD operators.
Such results testify to the efficiency of Ukrainian teams and the great potential of partnership. We call on international organizations to open representative offices in Ukraine – there will be enough work for everyone”,–
added the director of the Center.
Volodymyr Bayda emphasized that the development of the humanitarian demining sector requires not only deminers, but also specialists in the fields of IT, geoanalytics, ecology, and robotics.
"Today we are forming a new ecosystem - humanitarian demining in Ukraine is becoming a high-tech field. This is a synergy of security, science and business, which creates new jobs and opens up opportunities for innovation," -
emphasized the director of the Center.
The Ukrainian experience presented at the conference proved that humanitarian demining is not only a security task, but also a powerful driver of economic recovery.