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The scope of the European Modelling workshop is to provide a forum to discuss scientific and regulatory issues related to pesticide fate, exposure and effect modelling at the European level. Communication between scientists from industry, academic and regulatory backgrounds is very important to raise awareness of new developments and to facilitate the implementation of relevant new approaches into pesticide regulation. The European Modelling Workshop provides a forum for this exchange of information.

The meeting is jointly organised by Bernd Gottesbüren (private expert (formerly BASF SE), Germany), Marc Voltz (INRAE, France), Carola Schriever (BASF SE, Germany), Bas Buddendorf (WUR, The Netherlands), Thomas Preuss (BAYER, Germany), Cécile Dagès (INRAE, France) and Sabine Beulke (Enviresearch, UK).

The workshop will bring together members of research institutes, industry, consultants and regulatory authorities. Key topics are identified for each workshop and scientists involved in the selected topics are invited to actively participate and to present details of their work.

In 2023, the topics will be:

Exposure and effect modelling - Linking the domains

In 2007, the successful SETAC Elink workshop clarified the linkage between exposure and effect models in the aquatic domain and helped to make significant improvement in the surface water risk assessment in the last decade. Nowadays this linkage is also needed in the other areas of risk assessment, like soil, birds and mammals and bees. Mutual understanding and procedures need to be developed to improve the environmental risk assessment. Contributions focussing on the link between exposure and effects will bring progress in this matter.

The system-based approach - Linking chemical and biological monitoring and modelling
 

Groundwater monitoring has a prominent role within the tiered leaching assessment of the FOCUS groundwater workgroup. Results of surface water monitoring are also becoming an important source for debates on actual exposure in water and the validity of regulatory modelling scenarios.

Presentations are invited to advance the discussion on this topic, including:

• Catchment modelling and monitoring
• Use of modelling to determine monitoring strategies
• Vulnerability assessment of monitoring data and context setting
• Interpretation of results using modelling and complementary accompanying information e.g. co-contaminants

Implications of precision farming for risk assessment

Digitalisation and precision farming will change the way pesticides will be applied in agriculture, e.g. spot spraying, and tailored application techniques. These new technologies have a high potential to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture and create tailored on-the-field risk mitigation strategies. However, these technologies are not covered in the current pesticide product labels nor are they addressed in the risk assessment schemes in current guidance documents. Contributions giving insights into the use of field specific exposure and/or effect modelling for such innovative technologies are will stimulate the discussion.

Developments in environmental fate and effect modelling

We are keen to see activities to develop new modelling tools and scenarios (e.g. drift modelling and drift data, mitigation modelling), higher-tier studies for parameter refinement or spatial approaches to simulate environmental exposure and/or effects for regulatory purposes.