OVERVIEW

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Seeker for this Innocentive Challenge, is searching for creative, affordable solutions that can safely detect and mark the presence of underwater explosive ordnance .

In conflict or post-conflict zones, vast quantities of explosive ordnance (EO) lie submerged in oceans, lakes, rivers, and coastal waters. From post-WWII dumping to modern conflict spillover, these extremely hazardous explosives jeopardize the lives, livelihoods, and environments of nearby communities.

UNDP is particularly interested in solutions that can be safely used by members of these communities, empowering them and enabling widespread knowledge of these dangers without requiring military or high-cost commercial interventions. The ideal solution will allow users to equip a boat with a device that can identify explosive ordnance from at least 5 meters up to depths of ideally 30 meters, and then geo-mark the threat on low-cost handheld GPS systems or mobile phones.

By decentralizing the capacity to survey EO underwater, UNDP hopes to support community-led safety programmes , support humanitarian logistics for planning mitigation , and build a global mapping effort for underwater EO contamination.

Your IP Rights are protected in this Prize Challenge; UNDP must pay you an Award to obtain them.

The best solution has the opportunity to win the Award of $20,000 for meeting all must-have solution requirements. This Challenge requires a written proposal to be submitted and Awards will be contingent upon the theoretical evaluation of your proposal by UNDP against the Solution Requirements. To receive an Award, Solvers are required to grant non-exclusive license rights to the Intellectual Property (IP) in their proposed solution. Solvers will retain all rights to any proposal not awarded.

Awarded Solvers will also grant a license to UNDP to make awarded solutions freely available to other non-profit organizations to help improve mine action capabilities globally.

UNDP is willing to consider a collaboration agreement if non-exclusive IP rights cannot be transferred by a Solver that is an organization owning the IP rights in their proposed solution.

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on  March 9, 2026 .

Please review the later Participation Guidance section before submitting a proposal.

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ABOUT THE SEEKER & ELIGIBILITY

United Nations Development Programme  (UNDP) works before, during and after crises to break the cycle of repeated shocks. We help countries reboot local economies, restore health and education services, and strengthen governance so recovery starts immediately and not years later. When communities drive their own recovery, they rebuild stronger, reduce humanitarian dependency and are better prepared for future risks.

Your solutions will help the UNDP to improve the lives of thousands across the globe.

UNDP is supported in this project by SeaFreight Labs ( www.seafreightlabs.com ), an open-innovation consultancy using global challenges to cost-effectively deliver breakthrough innovation. Participation in this project is a direct result of SeaFreight Labs membership in the  Pledge 1%  movement.

THE CHALLENGE

Background

Following conflicts across the world, millions of tonnes of explosives remain underwater in inland, ocean, and coastal waters. Whether dumped post-conflict, sunk in combat, unexploded following failed deployment, or from inland battles that spilled into waterways, the hidden danger of underwater explosive ordnance now affects communities across the world.

The problem of explosive ordnance (EO) is pervasive and global. In contexts where the UN is engaged in Mine Action, from the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, through to modern conflict spillover in Yemen and Ukraine, the lack of knowledge about the location of underwater EO hampers the lives and livelihoods of communities who rely on these waters.

Some EO beneath the waves and currents aren’t only explosives. They can also contain toxic materials, including chemical weapons or carcinogenic chemicals, which – as they corrode and break down – leach into the surrounding water. This results in damage to the environment, wildlife, and potentially the health of communities who depend on these water bodies for their livelihoods and food.

The effects of underwater EO’s presence, breakdown, and their continued threat has first and second order effects on the nearby communities and humanitarian organizations operating in these regions:

Though the underwater dumping of EO was outlawed when the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter was adopted in 1972, modern conflict zones (such as Ukraine and Yemen) and legacy post-conflict regions (Solomon Islands, Vietnam) remain affected by the ongoing presence of dangerous materials underwater.

In addition, particularly underwater, the presence of explosive ordnance might be confirmed but its precise location is often unknown. Due to tides, currents, and the natural courses of waterways changing over time, EO can also move.

Whether on land or underwater, the detection and marking of EO for later clearance or mitigation is begun through Non-Technical Surveys (NTS): the gathering of quantitative and qualitative information on the location, nature, and risk assessment about EO. Then, following months or even years of consultation, Technical Surveys are the next step: utilizing technologies like metal detection, magnetometers, magnetic sensors, or sonar to determine the presence, concentration, and location of any explosives.

On land, metal detectors provide even amateur detectorists with the ability to identify and mark the presence of metal under the earth: with ferrous and non-ferrous metals interrupting the device’s generated electromagnetic field and ‘pinging’ the user. When dealing with mines and potentially contaminated areas, humanitarian and military organizations utilize similar technologies that enable detection (and subsequent notification) and ringfencing or geo-marking of the area. For underwater EO, things aren’t so simple: large-scale detection would require high-cost approaches or significant personnel to aid inspections.

The history of innovation in the space – to cut down on the often-lengthy process of Technical Surveys - is well-known. Rats, dogs, bees, and even dolphins have been trained and used to identify explosives without detonation, and plants and algae that can signal the presence of explosives/the chemicals that leach from their corrosion have also been tested.

To date, however, the major ability to detect and mark the presence of underwater EO sits with the military and commercial operators. The costs of the technology used for detection, the skills to implement them, and then the dangers/risk of removal/remediation of EO means this is often out of reach for the communities who depend on these waters for their livelihoods.

For example, in Ukraine, UNDP and partners have recently trained 15 specialists in the use of remotely operated vehicles (ROV) for location and identification of ordnance at depths of up to 300 meters in the country’s rivers, lakes, and waterways. The game-changing capabilities of the ROVs used in this programme, however, are not able to be scaled across the globe, to mine action programmes operating under budget constraints or different contexts (each ROV costs ~$250,000). In the Solomon Islands, where UNDP works to clear WWII ordnance, the shallow coastline and reliance on funding support means high-CAPEX – if effective – solutions like the ROV would be a wrong-fit at this stage.

Making the remarkable issue of safety from underwater explosive ordnance ‘mundane’, through passing this ability from expensive military or humanitarian-led projects into the hands of everyday people, would result in an extraordinary capability to make coastal and water-reliant communities safer.

UNDP is therefore launching this Challenge to uncover solutions and democratize and make the detection and marking of underwater explosives more affordable and practical.

The Challenge

This Challenge’s core ask is technical: what solution could be the equivalent of a ‘ fish finder ’ for the detection of underwater explosive ordnance (EO) and the ability to mark their surface location?

UNDP asks Solvers to submit solutions that would enable non-specialists and local community members to:

Solvers may be innovative in their proposed method. Tools might include sensors, mapping software, magnetic detection, chemical identification from corroded ordnance, or novel approaches that leverage acoustic, thermal, or other signatures. Modular devices, add-ons to existing equipment, or other approaches are welcome, given they meet the above-listed core criteria. If using magnetic search, your solution must list the associated risks of potential detonation of ordnance and how you would mitigate this.

No matter your method, solutions must prioritize the affordability, practicality, safety, and usability in low-resource, remote, or fragile settings:

Solutions that can indicate the level of risk – such as identifying highly corroded, mobile, or densely clustered build-ups of EO – are also desirable.

Submissions may be early-stage concepts (TRL1-3) or novel combinations of higher TRL components, or proof-of-concept solutions with indicative results and case studies. No matter your approach, any successful solution must be evidence-based and technically grounded, to ensure they can be achieved in real-world contexts.

  Photo credits to Shutterstock.