For the first time, the United Nations has undertaken to study the environmental situation after a war. The environmental evaluation of the Balkan region is a response to Under-Secretary-General Sergio Vieira de Mello's recommendation, following his mission to Kosovo, that a detailed assessment of the full extent of the environmental impact was urgently required. Our findings indicate that there are serious problems and that many people continue to suffer from the environmental consequences of the Kosovo conflict.

In May 1999, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS/Habitat) jointly established the Balkans Task Force. As a former Minister of Environment and Development Cooperation of Finland, I was invited to chair the work of the Balkans Task Force out of UNEP's European Regional Office in Geneva.

In July, our first team of experts investigated the so-called environmental "hot spots", which included industrial sites in Pancevo, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Nis, Bor, Prahovo and Pristina. We took samples and analyzed them in our mobile laboratories and at other reputable scientific institutions.

Our second international expert team of nine scientists from eight countries and representatives from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Green Cross assessed the situation of the Danube River. We established close cooperation with the International Commission on the Protection of the Danube River and collected numerous water and sediment samples for examination by independent laboratories in various countries. We visited four different sites along the River, including Iron Gate I, the reservoir on the border of Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria.

Another group of experts assessed the damages on selected biological diversity sites, such as the national parks in Fruska Gora, Kopaonik Mountains, Zlatibor, and Skadar Lake. Our expert group on depleted uranium included well-known scientists from the World Health Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the WWF and others. The group looked into the risks to human health and the damage and pollution of soil and water. The preliminary assessment provided the basis for decisions on further actions that need to be taken.

We distinguished between previous pollution and pollution caused by the bombings. Some industrial sites, such as the oil refinery in Novi Sad, plants in Pancevo, the Zastava car factory in Kragujevac or the mining town Bor, show signs of pre-existing environmental pollution at alarming levels.

There certainly has been a need for independent environmental assessment for quite some time. People have also suffered from different pollution-related diseases. From the environmental point of view, it is irrelevant whether the pollution is new or old, but for questions related to warfare, we differentiated between new and anterior pollution. I am very concerned about environmental hot spots -- the mercury released in Pancevo, the dioxin problems in Pancevo and Kragujevac -- as well as the overall risks to drinking water in many of these industrial towns, e.g. in Novi Sad. I am also concerned about the lack of electricity in Serbia. We found that in the mining town Bor emissions into the Danube River had increased as a result of this shortage.

A proper environmental clean-up of these locations has not yet taken place, and people on those sites are at risk. For example, in Pancevo we found asbestos scattered on the ground despite its toxicity. These and other harmful materials need to be removed, and the areas decontaminated before the start of reconstruction, as this might lead to new serious health consequences.

The Balkans Task Force assessed not only the environmental consequences of the war but also looked into human settlement issues. Our special team has been working since June, as part of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in Pristina, where numerous human settlements have been destroyed and others heavily damaged. Our experts proposed a quick impact project to UNMIK to identify neighbourhood improvement projects and help contractors in carrying out urgently needed reparations. Another project proposal deals with the regularization of housing and property rights in Kosovo.

I hope that the international donor community will assist in eradicating the severe contamination in the environmental hot spots, which threatens human health, keeps drinking water resources at risk and extends potential transboundary hazards along the Danube River. The immediate clean-up campaign should be part of the humanitarian assistance to the region. The estimated costs of these immediate clean-up activities amount to $17 million.

Finally, the conflict in the Balkans raises an interesting question about modern warfare, targeting industrial facilities with the danger of heavy pollution close to big cities. The international community discusses and decides whether the rules of modern warfare are up to date with regard to all the risks to human health and the environment.

The final report, detailed mission reports, photographs and maps are available on the UNEP website (www.grid.unep.ch/btf/).