Overview

CONMAR - 'CONcept for conventional MArine munition Remediation in the German North and Baltic Sea' (funding reference No. 03F0912A to 03F0912I) is a project of the DAM research mission sustainMare "Protection and sustainable use of marine areas", which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) from 01.12.2021 to 30.11.2024 with around € 25 million.

The aim of CONMAR is to integrate existing and new data-sets on historic marine munitions, combine expertise and knowledge of German marine science organizations, governmental bodies and private sector, advance our scientific understanding of the role, fate and impacts of marine munition in the environment, and provide policy solutions for monitoring and remediation actions in consultation with stakeholders. CONMAR will provide detailed information on the distribution and condition of munitions in German waters and deliver mechanistic and quantitative understanding on the release, spread, attenuation and transfer in the food chain of munition compounds, including assessments of their ecological and toxicological impacts. CONMAR will use the results to make assessments of remediation approaches, based on ecological and socio-economic considerations. CONMAR will set out a transdisciplinary engagement process between stakeholders and researchers. Stakeholders from industry, government organizations, NGOs, ecological and political organizations will be involved in CONMAR from the start to co-design a range of project activities, discuss research results during the co-development phase, co-evaluate the CONMAR outcomes during the final phase, and co-produce follow-up post-project actions, processes and initiatives.

Fig. 1:

Overview of dumping sites of munition that has been introduced during war activities, maneuvers and to large parts dumped after WWII.

CONMAR introduces itself

Watch our video series to learn more about the people in CONMAR: