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Information system for monitoring environmental impacts of genetically modified organisms

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Abstract

Background, aim and scope

European legislation stipulates that genetically modified organisms (GMO) have to be monitored to identify potential adverse environmental effects. A wealth of different types of monitoring data from various sources including existing environmental monitoring programmes is expected to accumulate. This requires an information system to efficiently structure, process and evaluate the monitoring data.

Methods

A structure for an Information System for Monitoring GMO (ISMO) was developed by a multidisciplinary research team. It is based on the requirement to organise all relevant information in a logical, readily accessible and functional manner.

Results

For the ISMO, we present a combination of three interrelated components: Firstly, an ISMO should comprise a knowledge database structured according to information related to the different scale levels of biological organisation relevant to GMO monitoring and scientific hypotheses on cause–effects which should be validated by monitoring data. Secondly, a monitoring database should be part of an ISMO containing GMO-specific monitoring data and meta-data. This monitoring database should be linked with monitoring data from other monitoring programmes which are relevant for GMO-related questions. Thirdly, an ISMO should encompass a database covering administrative and procedural data. Neither national nor international approaches to an ISMO exist yet.

Conclusions

An ISMO as designed in this paper could support competent authorities in both the GMO notification process and in post-market monitoring. This includes evaluating the environmental risks of experimentally releasing GMO and placing them on the market, assessing monitoring plans and evaluating monitoring results. The ISMO should be implemented on both the national and international level, preferably combining different administrative scales. Harmonisation approaches towards GMO monitoring data are at an initial stage, but they are a precondition to coordinated GMO monitoring and to successfully implementing an ISMO. It is recommended to set up a legal basis and to agree on common strategies for the data coordination and harmonisation.

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Acknowledgements

Funding by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation under Grant No 80464030 is gratefully acknowledged. Further support came from the Federal Ministry for Education and Research under grant No FKZ: 0312637A and 07VPS14A, respectively. Many thanks also to M. Stachowitsch for improving the English.

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Author notes

  1. Hauke Reuter

    Present address: Department of Ecological Modelling, Centre for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT), Fahrenheitstr. 6, 28359, Bremen, Germany

  2. Ulrike Middelhoff

    Present address: Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, P.O. Box 100214, 10562, Berlin, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Environmental Research and Sustainable Technology, University of Bremen, Leobener Str., 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Hauke Reuter, Ulrike Middelhoff & Broder Breckling

  2. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Konstantinstr. 110, 14191, Bonn, Germany

    Frieder Graef

  3. Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Str. 84, 15374, Müncheberg, Germany

    Frieder Graef

  4. Elisabethstr. 70, 28219, Bremen, Germany

    Richard Verhoeven

  5. Institute for Phytomedicine (360), Department of Weed Science, University of Hohenheim, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany

    Martin Weis

  6. Fraunhofer Institute for Information and Dataprocessing, Fraunhoferstraße 1, 76131, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Thomas Batz

  7. Chair of Landscape Ecology, University of Vechta, P.O. Box 1553, 49364, Vechta, Germany

    Gunther Schmidt & Winfried Schröder

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  1. Hauke Reuter
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Correspondence to Hauke Reuter.

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Responsible editor: Elena Maestri

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Reuter, H., Middelhoff, U., Graef, F. et al. Information system for monitoring environmental impacts of genetically modified organisms. Environ Sci Pollut Res 17, 1479–1490 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-010-0334-y

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