Conflicts from World War II through the early 1970s led to Vietnam’s heavy contamination by landmines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW). This includes widespread and extensive contamination from cluster munition remnants. According to the Landmine & Cluster Munitions Monitor report, Vietnamese officials estimate some 10,500 communes and 66,000km2 (21%) of the country is still affected by ERW. Vietnam’s mine problem is mostly a result conflicts in the 1970s with neighboring Cambodia and China. Mines are also emplaced around former US military installations. Many ports and river deltas were mined extensively during the war. The Landmine/UXO Impact Survey of the six worst affected central provinces conducted by the Technology Center for Bomb and Mine Disposal (BOMICEN) between 2004 and 2008 reported a total of 3,214 battle and mined areas covering 15,897km2. This represents more than one-third of the six provinces’ total land area affecting up to 8 million people. Quang Tri province was the worst affected, with 739 bombed and mined areas said to be affecting 3,866km2 or 83% of its total land. The most heavily affected provinces after Quang Tri are Ha Tinh and Quang Binh. Vietnam’s border region with Laos, an area intensively bombed by the U.S. in an effort to interdict North Vietnamese troops, is also heavily contaminated with UXO and landmines. In 2009, the Vietnamese government established the Vietnam Bomb and Mine Action Centre (VBMAC) to manage demining and UXO removal operations in the country. The VBMAC operates under of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs.