Environmental and nature conservation aspects of the cultivation of genetically modified organisms

In this study, the Federal Environment Agency analyses the relevance of environmental and nature conservation aspects in the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). For this purpose, legislation in the EU, reports and recommendations of the EU Commission as well as national GMO or nature conservation-specific regulations are analysed. In addition, scientific foundations for the necessity of taking nature conservation issues into account are discussed and spatial overlaps between possible GMO cultivation areas and areas protected by nature conservation law are discussed. Possible scenarios for the consideration of nature conservation issues are shown. These range from inclusion during the European authorisation procedure to testing obligations and requirements for potential GMO cultivation under national regulations.