Achieving Sustainability in Ukraine through Military Brownfields Redevelopment

December 18-21, 2023

University of Oradea

Oradea, Romania

Funded by:

Science for Peace and Security Programme

NATO Emerging Security Challenges Division (Link)

 

Background:

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The (Military) Brownfields Problem, Public Health, and Environmental Security

Our security depends on the cooperation of allies about the issues that threaten our safety. Sharing strategies for solving common problems is one important way we can strengthen the alliance between NATO allies and partner countries. We, the North American and European NATO countries, know that derelict and contaminated land or brownfields are of concern for the safety of local communities and for planning and redevelopment efforts in NATO and NATO partner countries.

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This project addresses multi-scale concerns with the cooperative partnership among seasoned researchers from NATO countries (Romania, U.S.A., Poland, Canada, Hungary, Turkey, the Czech Republic & Montenegro) and NATO partner countries (Ukraine, Serbia & Bosnia and Herzegovina).

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The Special Focus on Ukraine, as a NATO Partner Country

The ARW will establish substantial cooperation among researchers from NATO nations and partner countries, while paying special attention to Ukraine’s military brownfields and challenges.

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Thousands of military brownfield sites in Ukraine and brownfields and greyfields in the cities, exponentially aggravated by the war destruction, present a myriad of opportunities to create healthy cities, green manufacturing hubs, alternative energy generators, farms, or other sustainable land reuse practices. This international collaboration proposed will be a unique effort to develop a framework for sustainable military brownfields redevelopment using sites in Ukraine as a complex model.

The Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) is an opportunity for experts from North America and Europe to assess the state-of-the art practices related to environmental security, to identify key research issues, and to discuss multidisciplinary technical approaches to security for many diverse threats to individuals, communities or nations and their social, health, and economic well-being. The ARW will be a useful avenue for international cooperation on assessing, surveying and developing mitigation plans for prevention of environmental hazards or episodes from defence-related activities and installations. A total of 50 international academics and other stakeholders will participate in the Workshop. All project partners will collaboratively design and support this workshop which will be organized also to build a practical co-operation between NATO countries and NATO partners on the aspects of reusing and repurposing former military lands for beneficial use for communities. The participants will have the chance to examine the methods, approaches, and frameworks for assessing the environmental characteristics of military lands for reuse, including land selection criteria, types of contamination and materials found at the sites, risk assessment approaches, risk communication, sustainable redevelopment options, and risk management prioritization methodologies. It will emphasize approaches for conversion and revival of former military areas and newly-created war-time blighted sites. At the same time, the most practical and cost-effective remediation techniques and approaches for the military areas will be presented. The ARW will enhance knowledge about the potential risks of military brownfield sites and will provide solutions for their management and re-use in NATO countries and NATO partner countries. Participants in the ARW will have the opportunity to utilize and test an online database related to brownfield management issues, which will be sponsored by the project. The database will be peer-reviewed and will provide a platform for developing and pursuing research ideas by senior and junior researchers in collaboration with one another and/or independently. The ARW will also serve as a forum for “Knowledge Transfer and Good Practice Exchange” between the NATO countries and the NATO-partner countries, including elements such as governance arrangements; leadership; mission and strategy; administration (including human resources, financial management, and legal matters); project development and implementation; fundraising; diversity; partnership and collaboration; evaluation; advocacy and policy exchange; marketing; positioning; planning; etc. This activity will be useful in presenting the results of the project to both academic and practitioner stakeholders, who are specifically engaged in brownfield management issues. Their feedback and input will help shape and enhance the project team’s work products. The ARW offers opportunities for the selected papers presented in the ARW, to be published in the NATO Science for Peace Series, Springer Publishing House (Web of Science indexed).