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Since the reunification of Germany and the withdrawal of the last Russian troops, Brandenburg has developed into a centre for the conversion industry. The reasons for this are primarily historical. For more than a century, large areas (for example more than 2300 km of military training areas) of the land have been used for military purposes. Dangerous military waste continues to hinder economic development and endanger the public security in some areas.

Estonia is located in Northern Europe, on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, thus lying in the northern part of the temperate zone and in the transition zone between maritime and continental climates. The capital and the largest town of Estonia is Tallinn.

Even in countries that were not occupied by the Red Army, safety and contamination problems have arisen. National defence forces are responsible for a number of environmental problems, including the spilling of fuels and the deposition of lead bullets and undetonated projectiles on shooting ranges. In cases like Finland, where the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is responsible for clean-up measures, the so-called “double-impact” phenomenon can arise. The MoD may considers it too difficult to restore a former military site and solves the problem by simply holding the facilities empty. As long as this occurs, the region cannot benefit from the civilian re-use of the former military property.

For the defence system of the Republic of Bulgaria the major transformation trends have been identified as a result of a strategic defence review (SDR) prepared in 2003–2004. The most important conclusions of the SDR, including the reduction of unit numbers, a modernisation plan, and the long-term vision for development of the Bulgarian Armed Forces (AF) up to 2015 and the full professionalisation of the AF by the end of 2010, are presented in this work. Data regarding the destruction of warheads and motors of twenty-four Soviet CC-23 rockets and sixty-seven “Scud” and “Frog” rockets, as well as the conversion of some military bases in Bulgaria are also discussed in this paper.

The legal framework regarding the placement of liability following an accident or other impact emanating from a property is extremely import in the context of the remediation of military wastes. Because in Germany a very significant liability lies with a property owner, liability law must be considered in any discussion of the reuse of lands once subjected to bombardment or upon which military activities had taken place. Because airports have historically been the location of both military activities and heavy bombardment, these lands must be given priority with regards to munitions clearing, remediation, and conversion.

The end of the initiated dramatic political changes across the globe that would lead to demilitarisation world-wide. This demilitarisation, and the associated reduction in troop numbers, is closely associated with the opening of lands once used for military purposes. Through this demilitarisation and after the end of the Cold War in 1989, more than 8000 areas with a total area of more than one million hectares used for military purposes were opened world-wide (BMfUNR, 1997). Because of the unique geographic and political situation of Germany, significant military forces were concentrated here for decades during the Cold War, occupying a correspondingly significant area. In Germany alone, some 3860 km of land formerly used by military forces were opened (BMfUNR, 1997). Due to the very large area of land previously used by the military, the State of Brandenburg has had a particularly important role to play in this process. Some 2300 km of the state’s area was used for military purposes in 1989, accounting for . eight percent of the state. Between 1990 and 1994, the year in which the western group of the Soviet military (WGT) was completely withdrawn from the state, approximately 1600 km were removed from military use (LB, 2001). Since that time, great efforts have been made to convert these areas such that they will be once again suitable for civilian use. However, the rehabilitation of lands used for decades by the armed forces harbours numerous problems. Beyond the con- flicting interests of potential users, the availability of an area for particular uses is the limiting factor. The availability of former troop training areas for civilian uses is generally heavily limited by the presence of military wastes.

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) classifies chemical agents into different classes according to the risks they pose to the object and purpose of the Convention. This includes the destruction of stockpiled materials, as well as of old and abandoned agents and remnants.

Since 1990, Poland has launched massive efforts to manage and solve the largescale environmental pollution on more than twenty abandoned military bases. The government project started with the development of an environmental risk assessment methodology and the estimation the environmental loses and costs which were needed to perform immediate, medium-term and long-term remediation activities.

The Former Military Training Area Königsbrück and Nature Reserve Königsbrücker Heide is owned by the private foundation Wald für Sachsen (“Forests for Saxony”). The military training area is–according to natural conservation activists and authorities–the largest and most important nature preserve in Saxony. At the same time, it is subject to the interests of many different groups. Many legends prevail regarding its military uses that are often incorrect. Perhaps this report will help to shed light on the reality. This article will serve as an overview of the situation at the former military training area and of activities taking place there.

Based on the experiences of projects in the field of conversion, the hazards typically associated with different conversion sites such as former military training areas, air fields, barracks, bunkers and fortifications, depots, battlefields, armament factories, explosives production facilities and chemical warfare agent production facilities are presented. Then, strategies for the historic investigation of former military sites and sources of information including historic maps, aerial photographs, archival records, eye witness interviews, analysis of contemporary literature, military specifications and service regulations are discussed with respect to their utilisation and acquisition from different archives and libraries and their value as sources of historic information. Finally, the combination of single pieces of historic information into a mosaic depicting a near-complete image of activities at former military sites and its application for risk assessment are considered.