CONMAR I & II

The German parts of the North and Baltic Seas are contaminated with an estimated 1.6 million tonnes of ammunition from the two World Wars. These underwater munitions pose risks of explosion and release toxic chemicals that threaten both human safety and marine ecosystems.

In Phase 1 of the project, CONMAR–Governance examined the growing momentum behind munitions clearance efforts. The project analyzed advocacy and communication strategies that successfully influenced policy change and supported clearance efforts by developing a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) for prioritizing munition dump sites in the German Baltic Sea.

Phase 2 builds on this foundation and coincides with the pilot clearance of munitions piles in designated dumping sites, funded by the federal government’s Immediate Action Program ‘Munition Clearance’. This phase aims to contribute to effective clearance through scientific monitoring, coordination with stakeholders and local communities, and the promotion of public acceptance.

Our work focuses on:

1. Analyzing the impact of pilot clearance on public acceptance.
2. Supporting the integration of munitions clearance into a multi-use marine environment.
3. Expanding the multi-criteria analysis by incorporating new areas and the latest research findings from the pilot operations.