30 Jahre NATO-Ausschuß für die Herausforderungen der modernen Gesellschaft (NATO – CCMS)

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS) Ecologic was hired to take an inventory of and evaluate selected pilot studies, placing a particular emphasis on studies under German leadership. The evaluation was intended to set social and environmental priorities in the context of the future development of the CCMS. In this sense, the investigation of environmentally relevant pilot studies was placed into the broader context of the functions of other NATO Science Committees. The political perspective of an eastward expansion of NATO to include the states of Central and Eastern Europe and recent changes in European security policy were also considered.

Alongside its traditional political, security, and military mission, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) also has a civilian dimension known as the Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS) and the NATO Science Programme. The CCMS was established in 1969 to strengthen the "social dimension" of the security alliance according to Article 2 of the NATO Treaty. On the occasion of the 30-year anniversary of the CCMS, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety asked Ecologic to take inventory of and evaluate selected pilot studies, placing a particular emphasis of studies under German leadership. The evaluation was intended to assist the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety to set domestic social and environmental priorities in the context of the future development of the CCMS. In this sense, the investigation of environmentally relevant pilot studies is placed into the broader context of the functions of other NATO Science Committees (i.e. Science for Peace-SfP, Science for Stability-SfS and Partnership for Peace-PfP). Furthermore, the political perspectives of NATO regarding its eastward expansion to include the states of Central and Eastern Europe and recent changes in European security policy are represented. Evaluation and suggestions for environmental policy prioritization.