Applications for placing on the market of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for import, food, feed and processing under Directive 2001/18/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1829/ 2003, have to include a monitoring plan conforming with Annex VII to Directive 2001/18/EC. One aspect of this monitoring plan is the need for general surveillance to identify the occurrence of adverse effects of the viable GMO or its use on human and animal health or the environment which were not anticipated in the environmental risk assessment (e.r.a.). Since international grain commodity trade consists of commingled products and the Plant Biotechnology Industry is not directly involved in commodity trade, authorisation holders under Directive 2001/18/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 have been working together within the European Association of Bioindustries (EuropaBio) and with European trade associations representing relevant commodity trade operators to develop a harmonised general surveillance methodology for import and processing of viable GMOs. A harmonised industry general surveillance system was agreed upon by the Plant Biotechnology Industry members and the European trade associations and has been operational for several years. This harmonised industry general surveillance system has now been described in a harmonised industry monitoring plan. In line with Decision 2002/811/EC establishing guidance notes supplementing Annex VII to Directive 2001/18/EC and the Guidance Document of the Scientific Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms for the risk assessment of genetically modified plants and derived food and feed, this monitoring plan contains a detailed description of the agreed monitoring methodology together with other specifics, such as the baseline and controls for general surveillance, the time period over which general surveillance will be carried out, the use of existing networks and how the results of monitoring will be reported and reviewed.

The European Union (EU) Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the environment requires that both Case-Specific Monitoring (CSM) and General Surveillance (GS) are considered as post-market implementing measures. Whereas CSM is directed to monitor potential adverse effects of GMOs or their use identified in the environmental risk assessment, GS aims to detect un-intended adverse effects of GMOs or their use on human and animal health or the environment. Guidance documents on the monitoring of genetically modified (GM) plants from the Commission and EFSA clarify that, as appropriate, GS can make use of established routine surveillance practices. Networks involved in routine surveillance offer recognised expertise in a particular domain and are designed to collect information on important environmental aspects over a large geographical area. However, as the suitability of existing monitoring networks to provide relevant data for monitoring impacts of GMOs is not known, plant biotechnology companies developed an approach to describe the processes and criteria that will be used for selecting and evaluating existing monitoring systems. In this paper, the availability of existing monitoring networks for this purpose is evaluated. By cataloguing the existing environmental monitoring networks in the EU, it can be concluded that they can only be used, in the context of GMO cultivation monitoring, as secondary tools to collect baseline information.

O papel dos agentes na comunidade de artesãos em Três Lagoas-MS, como instrumentos impulsionadores do desenvolvimento local The role of the agents in the artisans' community at Três Lagoas, city of Mato Grosso do Sul-Brazil, as impulsive human tools to the local development Le rôle des agents dans la communauté des artisans à Três Lagoas, ville de Mato Grosso do Sul-Brésil, comme des instruments encourageants au développement local El papel de los agentes en la comunidad de artesanos en Três Lagoas, Mato Grosso do Sul, como instrumentos impulsadores del desarrollo local