Proposal to Establish a Federal Agency for Baltic Sea Marine Environment Monitoring and Protection

In public debate the task of “conversion” and the “peace dividend” are often dealt with as totally different, if not contradictory. Conversion is viewed upon as an attempt to safeguard vested interests and given assets (jobs, demand, profit); the peace dividend on the other hand is seen as serving the public interest by being invested into solutions for common or even global problems (environment, development). This dichotomic view is by no means self-evident or given by nature. If and to what extent conversion and the realisation of the peace dividend fit with each other depends on how and to what end conversion programs are shaped. One proposal bringing both into line shall be sketched here: the formation of a Federal Agency for Baltic Sea Marine Environment Monitoring and Protection, called BfO (Bundesanstalt für Ostseeschutz und -überwachung).