Major problems faced after the withdrawal of the soviet army from Moldova

Abstract

Many years have passed since Moldova proclaimed independence, but because of a lack of financial resources and staff preparedness during the period of transition, some important problems regarding the conversion of military sites have arisen in Moldova. Following the withdrawal of the Soviet Army, both abandoned and operative military objects could be characterised as having various degrees of degradation and the need for different approaches for rehabilitation, environment protection and remediation. Immediately following this withdrawal and like the other states of Western Europe such as Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany, the Baltic States appeared to have had an urgent need for an assessment of contaminated sites. Negative effects on the environment and human health were evident, including the pollution of geologic media and degradation of natural resources and landscapes. Major sources of pollution included transport and rocket fuels, lubricants, solvents, galvanic wastes, the remnants of chemical weapons and decontamination substances. Unfortunately, the actions of the Moldavian government and the ruling party were neither consequent nor prompt, thereby being inappropriate to solve these problems. The consequences were revealed to be dramatic. Since the existence of the Soviet Union, policies to create economic military potential was directed only to that zone where the majority of defence enterprises were established. For example, a metallurgical (electro-steel smelting) plant with productivity of approximately around one million tons per year was built to have an annual turnover equal to the total annual budget of the country. As a result of this concentrated industrial capacity and the subsequent demise of many industries, Moldavian society has faced economic difficulties with regards to democratic reforms. After the end of the Cold War, an attempt was made to inventory the impact of brownfields and prepare for field restoration, but the initiative was stopped because lack of access to the militarised zone. It has been the result that many inhabitants are suffering from restricted travel rights and limited access to the active national economy. © 2007 Springer.