5.2 Landmines clxviii. Mozambique is affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war, a legacy of nearly 30 years of conflict that ended in 1992. The devastation caused by mines is striking. In addition to farmable land, power lines, roads, bridges, railroads and airports, even schools, factories and cattle dip tanks were mined. Wildlife is also threatened by mines; elephants have been found maimed by antipersonnel mines and killed by antitank mines. clxix. Since the signing of the GPA in October 1992, mine-clearing activities have been under way. While Mozambique has not yet met its targets, partly because of difficult access to mined areas, the country has made progress in dealing with its mine and unexploded ordnance problem. With the support of development partners, the country is tackling the issue from all sides – from mapping and landmine clearance, to support for survivors and education programmes for children. In the process, Mozambique is taking bold steps down the road to greater security and prosperity. However, tens of thousands of landmines remain, posing a gruesome threat to civilian safety and rural economic recovery. clxx. In November 2008, Mozambique presented its request to the other member states of the Ottawa Convention, which bans the production, exporting, transportation and use of landmines, for an extension of the time granted under the convention to be declared free of landmines. Its request was accepted and the deadline for landmine clearance has been extended by five years, from 2009 to 2014. The international community is urged to continue supporting Mozambique in its mine-clearing programme so that the country can meet the target of becoming free of landmines by 2014. 5.3 The Environmental Situation in Beira clxxi. With an estimated population of 436 240 in 2007, Beira is the second largest city in Mozambique and the capital of Sofala province. It lies in the central region of the country, where the Pungue River meets the Indian Ocean. It also holds the regionally significant Port of Beira, which acts as a gateway for both the central interior portion of the country and the landlocked nations of Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Beira is also a major railway terminus, with links extending to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. clxxii. The city of Beira has a relatively long history, having been founded in 1889 as the headquarters of the Mozambique Company, or Companhia de Moçambique, on the site of an old Muslim settlement. The city’s administration passed from the trading company to the Portuguese government in 1942, and then to independent Mozambique in 1975. It celebrated its centenary in 1989. 36 A P R M COU N T RY R EV IEW R EP ORT NO. 11