Although the Chernobyl accident occurred two decades ago, much controversy remains concerning its real impact. These proceedings present the findings and recommendations of the Chernobyl Forum and the discussions held during the international conference "Chernobyl: Looking Back to Go Forwards" held in Vienna in September 2005. The Chernobyl Forum was a project initiated in 2003 by the IAEA, in cooperation with FAO, UNDP, UNEP, UN-OCHA, UNSCEAR, WHO and the World Bank as well as the competent authorities of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, to find consensus on the environmental consequences and health effects attributable to radiation exposure arising from the accident as well as to provide advice on environmental remediation and special health care programmes, and to suggest areas in which further research is required.