A scientifically based, appropriate and, above all, in the long term effective treatment of soil and groundwater pollutants requires a better understanding 
of natural degradation and retention than has been the case in the past. Furthermore it is also necessary to evaluate these effects and to make use of the information 
thus gained for both hazard assessment and remediation processes.    
   
The aim of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research's KORA funding priority is to show under which conditions pollutants can be retained and degraded, 
and how these processes can be reliably measured, assessed, monitored and utilised. In addition, it is intended to obtain a series of standard solutions that 
show how natural attenuation can be taken into account   
   
in the assessment of hazards emanating from contaminated groundwater and soils   
in the analysis and implementation of remediation processes   
in the analysis and implementation of post clean up measures.    
The over 60 projects of this funding priority will be carried out at a wide range of sites using different methods. They are divided into eight Thematic Networks, 
each with its own coordinator. The first six thematic networks cover pollutants typical for a particular industry and thematic networks seven and eight are 
concerned with wider-ranging aspects. The products of the thematic networks 1 to 6 are sector guidelines, which should allow an assessment of the potential 
for natural retention and degradation processes for the group of pollutants or a combination of pollutants under investigation in different locations. Thematic 
networks 7 and 8 will provide chapters for the recommendation handbook written from an interdisciplinary point of view.    
   
The KORA Management is charged with actively supporting all participants in the funding priority. They should promote the collaboration of the individual 
thematic networks to present a joint recommendation handbook and compile this using the knowledge and experience gained in the funding priority. Furthermore, 
the general public should be kept informed about the results of the funding priority through appropriate public relations work.