Fate and effects of chemicals in Morocco in aquatic and terrestrial environments (FETCH)
Exchange of scientific expertise in the fields of environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology, with reference to innovative studies on the fate and effects of the antiparasitic agent ivermectin.
Project: Platform for the implementation of risk assessment of pesticides in Southeastern Europe (PIRAP SEE)
Principal investigator: Prof. Dr. Rolf-Alexander Düring
Person in charge: Prof. Dr. Rolf-Alexander Düring
Period: 2017-2019
Summary:
Active substances such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals enter intentionally or unintentionally the environment via different paths. Depending on their physical chemical properties, these chemicals behave differently and may accumulate in compartments like soils, sediments, and biota. As these compounds are active ingredients in pharmaceuticals or in pesticide formulations, they potentially exert effects on organisms in these environmental media. In retrospective, countless adverse effects were observed and could be attributed to the impact of such active substances which resulted in the multidisciplinary research field of ecotoxicology. In the EU, ecotoxicological research is an integrative element within the registration and authorization of chemicals and specifically pesticides or veterinary pharmaceuticals. With increasing intensity of agriculture, plant protection and animal health become increasingly important. The concomitant application of active substances must be examined with ecotoxicological methodologies, which are not established in Morocco. With this proposal, internationalisation of research and higher education between Morocco and Germany will be achieved by the cooperation of five participating project partners. These partners present a team coming from industry, authority, and academia. The two Moroccan partners, Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II in Rabat and Impelab from Marrakesh, will introduce innovative and standardized methodologies to investigate the environmental behavior and effects of active substances which will increasingly be used in Morocco due to intensifying agricultural production. By intensive travelling and exchange, the Moroccan partners will be guided and trained by the involved German counterparts, that is one small enterprise (ECT Oekotikologie GmbH), one state laboratory (Hessen State Laboratory), and one university (University Gießen), with the aim to sustainably develop agriculture in Morocco. Essentially, this bilateral project follows four main objectives:
- exchange of scientific expertise in environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology with special regard to innovative studies on fate and effects of the antiparasiticide ivermectin.
- introduction of EU standard procedures in environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology with the aim to prepare a research proposal on EU level, i.e. under Horizon 2020
- encouragement of young scientists both in Morocco and Germany providing European perspectives
- synergistic development of expertise in the interdisciplinary field of environmental toxicology and chemistry with added value especially in research under North-African conditions.
Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF): German-Moroccan Scientific and Technological Cooperation
Project partners:
Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco
Impelab, Marrakesh, Morocco
ECT Oekotoxikologie GmbH, Flörsheim am Main, Germany
Hessian State Laboratory (LHL), Giessen, Germany