Aug 1, 2002

Archive

Send

Field of conflict Green Genetechnology

GM rapeseed near nature reserves?

Genetically modified rapeseed is to be released in the vicinity of an area considered for nature conservancy in Swisttal, a community on the outskirts of Bonn. Environmental organisations such as the BUND and the NABU are protesting. No decision on this cultivation has yet been made.

Approval for the trial with herbicide-resistant rapeseed was submitted by the Bayer CropScience Corporation (formally Aventis) through a so-called simplified procedure. According to this, further release areas for certain genetically modified plants can be subsequently registered under the conditions that sufficient experience on the possible environmental effects were gathered in the previous trials.

Prior to this planned trial near Swisttal, the Robert-Koch Institute (RKI), the authority responsible, has approved since July 1998 the release of transgenic rapeseed in 54 locations. All locations have been posted on the internet, including a description of the intended use. A spokesman for the RKI in an interview with BioSafety explained that the location in Swisttal had been investigated for its suitability. The nearby area proposed as a nature sanctuary according to the European Flora-Fauna-Habitat (FFH) guidelines was taken into consideration. The approval was accredited in consultation with two other authorities involved in the procedure, the Federal Environment Agency and the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Forestry.

The environmental organisations BUND and NABU warn of the danger from outcrossing of the GM-rapeseed to other plants and the creation of ‘Superweeds’. They demand a reconsideration of the approval. According to the RKI, the approval procedure indicated no particular risks for the FFH area. The approval is in force. Whether Bayer CropScience will actually use the location, has according to the Company not yet been decided. The area has been registered as a precaution to ensure that they had sufficient test locations available. At present the field is lying fallow. The sowing of winter rapeseed can, however, can be undertaken up to late autumn.