Selected projects

The use of GM plants in agriculture needs in-depth studies of both ecological and economical consequences. NERI is co-ordinator of ECOGEN, which is a project under the Quality of Life 5th-framework program. The aim is to provide crucial input to the administrators of Directive 2001/18/EC, who need specifications on how to make the GM risk assessment and provide advice to farmers and the public, who are on alert as to the possible ecological implications. Economic trade-offs are assessed and related to ecological effects of GM-crops and changes in cultivation regime. The project combines simple lab tests, multi-species model ecosystems and field studies to acquire mechanistic and realistic knowledge. The economic and ecological knowledge gained in ECOGEN will be combined at the farm level in a rule based model for a decision support tool.

NERI also participates in the EU-project SIGMEA. The overall objective is to set up a science-based framework for assessing and managing ecological and economical impacts of GM crops in Europe with special attention to co-existence. NERI participates in modelling gene flow and fate of transgenes and in the design and validation of the generic and the modelling platform.