Carolina Di Paolo (RWTH Aachen, Germany) provided an overview of the NORMAN inter-laboratory study on biotesting of spiked water extracts, highlighting both the challenges of performing such studies and the need for more method harmonization in environmental testing.
This is the only way to attain true international harmonization of environmental research and monitoring in Antarctica, enhance mutual confidence in the output of such activities, and sensibly exploit precious human and financial resources to the benefit of a better understanding and effective protection of the Antarctic environment.
As climate policy design moves towards domestic implementation, integration of multiple environmental objectives and international harmonization, the greatest demand is identified for new model developments at the extremes of sectoral policy assessment, through technology oriented simulation models, as well as more holistic ones (for example, integrated assessment models).
Bugge (1996) has identified four versions of the PPP: economically, it promotes efficiency; legally, it promotes justice; it promotes harmonization of international environmental policies; it defines how to allocate costs within a State.
The draft is seen as "a massive dilution of current Bank policy that could undermine the momentum for the upward harmonization of social and environmental standards and their alignment with universal human rights".
Obligations of these management bodies can embrace the establishment of sustainability criteria, assessment of their fulfillment and updating, development and improvement of indicators, and control of environmental sustainability and claims, as well as promotion, harmonization, and accreditation of the co-existing sustainability standards [71].
Apart from subject-matter specific recommendations, progress can only be achieved with further harmonization of methods, including those for environmental exposure assessment.
Adaptation of daily activity rhythms to environmental LD cycles is reported to be attained by harmonization with entrainment and masking [7].
These studies support the notion that epigenetic biomonitoring is still a new area of environmental health studies that necessitates of international coordination, methodological harmonization, and mechanistically sound interpretation of results.
