Landmines in Cambodia: Past, Present, and Future By Wade C. Rober ...

“foregone earnings.” Whether speaking of prevention mechanisms that forestall landmine/UXO incidents from occurring or rehabilitation services allowing the maimed to rejoin the workforce, the benefit of one life saved has been valued in accordance with the amount an individual can earn throughout the remainder of his or her life. The most pervasive Cambodian report indicating the value of cleared land, saved medical expenses, and the increase in “human value” from lives saved originates from a report authored by Geoff Harris (2000).

Harris was initially concerned with whether landmine clearance was economically efficient in Cambodia. Harris made specific identification parameters regarding the benefits of landmine clearance. These parameters included the money not spent in the medical treatment of victims, increased agricultural production, and the quantified value of human lives saved from landmine-related incidents. The costs of demining were explicit and involved the exact dollar amount necessary to clear mines within Cambodia. The combined benefits were weighed against the costs of demining. The conclusion of Harris’s analysis found the benefits of removing landmines in Cambodia were worth only 2% of the costs.

Following the practice of valuing lives according to an earning potential, Cambodians were valued at US$134 a year (Harris 2000). This finite figure was not substantial enough to outweigh the direct costs involved in the demining process. In addition to the low value of life established, Harris also concluded maimed individuals, having completed programs of rehabilitation, had a productive capacity half that of a “normal” person. Accordingly, a completely rehabilitated maimed individual was valued at a mere $67 a year. International organizations rarely perform the cost-benefit analysis themselves but instead base their decisions on summary statistics of studies conducted by others. Harris’s influential cost-benefit analysis undervalues life and puts poor countries at a decisive disadvantage concerning funding.

The Harris report says removing landmines in Cambodia is not beneficial according to a cost-benefit analysis. In addition to the problems that exist in regard to the foregone earnings approach of valuing life, Harris also ignores that considerable variance exists regarding the value of