This blog post is based on the remarks of Dr. Kateřina Šebková on the Global Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP) round table “Embedding POPs Data Management: Information Systems at National and Regional Levels” held on 28 October 2025.
Over more than two decades, the Czech Republic has developed an information system for collecting, storing, and visualizing data on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) called GENASIS. This work reflects the country’s recognition of the importance of data treatment, templates, and formatting standards for monitoring and managing hazardous chemicals.
Drawing on lessons from the first Global Monitoring Plan (GMP) reports and national digitalization efforts, during GGKP`s round table event under Global NIP Update project Dr. Kateřina Šebková illustrated how strong scientific infrastructure, harmonized data protocols, and close collaboration between research and government have standardized the collection, storage, and use of environmental data and built a global tool for the Stockholm Convention, but also for Regional Organization Groups to use.
From Paper Records to Digital Infrastructure
When the Stockholm Convention entered into force, the Czech research community recognized the need to build a transparent, harmonized data system to track the change and transport of POPs in the environment. Twenty years ago, most data existed in printed reports, pdf files or basic Excel sheets. Today, that reality seems distant. Almost all environmental data are now digital, but the abundance of databases has brought a new challenge.
“You have thousands of databases and then you have this blindness by opportunity because you don’t know to which database to look at and how transparent and accurate those data are.”
In the early 2000s, as the Stockholm Convention entered into force, Czech researchers sought to address this challenge by ensuring their country had accurate data on the fate and transport of POPs. The national scientific community, already working for decades on POPs research at the RECETOX, Masaryk University, began developing a dedicated database and visualization system with a standardized and harmonized structure and metadata. This work laid the foundation for what would later evolve into the Global Monitoring Plan Data Warehouse (GMP DWH) — an international platform for POPs data storage and visualization. Today, almost all monitoring is digitized and connected across multiple platforms.
The Global Monitoring Plan Data Warehouse
Article 16 of the Stockholm Convention lays down procedures to identify changes in concentrations of POPs over time across environmental and human matrices. The GMP DWH facilitates this task. The system now serves as both a repository and a visualization tool that helps regions and countries manage POPs monitoring data. It consists of two interconnected components: a data management console and a public visualization interface. The management console allows data managers and technical experts to verify and harmonize submissions before they become publicly visible, ensuring that all data follow strict structural and quality standards. The visualization interface, in turn, allows users to explore official data through an intuitive dashboard 24/7.
Data included in the warehouse cover the core matrices under the Stockholm Convention: air, surface water, human breast milk, and human blood. Countries can submit primary data or annually aggregated data, and the system ensures that comparable datasets are not mixed — for example, by preventing the display of primary and aggregated data together and thus all GMP DWH data are shown as annually aggregated levels.
Harmonized formats with standardized codes and validated structures are essential to guarantee that information is comparable, non-duplicative and traceable to its original source. The data includes detailed metadata such as sampling site coordinates, collection methods, and analytical protocols, linked to a numeric value representing the pollutant concentration and the site where it was collected. If errors occur during data import, the system automatically flags inconsistencies, allowing contributors to correct them before publication.
Supporting Global and National Monitoring
The GMP DWH currently houses the larges pool of global POPs data reported by regional organization groups, country partners or research infrastructures. Users can visualize spatial distributions of sampling sites, analyze data availability across years and regions or per chemicals, and generate summary statistics and trend charts for specific chemicals. The visualization tools allow selection by matrix (e.g., air or water) and by individual chemicals, such as DDT, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), or PCB. Each point on the map corresponds to a monitoring site, with color-coded trends indicating whether pollutant concentrations are increasing, decreasing, or statistically stable or no trend can be established due to a limited number of observations in a time series.
The data availability module displays which countries have contributed data across specific years, while the summary statistics module provides insights into variability and coverage. The trend analysis module presents whether pollutant levels are decreasing over time, helping decision makers and stakeholders in seeing what activities are taking place in their country related to the Stockholm Convention.
The warehouse’s goal is to ensure that official, validated monitoring data can be easily accessed and used by countries and stakeholders to support implementation of the Stockholm Convention. All aggregated data are made publicly available once regional reports are finalized. It is updated in 6-year interval as per GWP cycle, and next major update will be presented to the Conference of the Parties in 2027, based on data currently being collected.
The Czech Experience: Building a National System
At the national level, the data management efforts have been mirrored by the Czech Republic’s own national system, GENASIS (Global Environmental Assessment and Information System). GENASIS started to be developed in 2001, to reflect national needs for the establishment of complex information systems to support decision-making. By 2008, the system had its first beta version capable of storing not only official monitoring results but also research data generated by academic institutions. This allowed the National Implementation Plan (NIP) team to use a research-based evidence.
Over time, the Czech data infrastructure has grown more sophisticated. With the rise of artificial intelligence tools and open science clouds, the need for skilled data managers and IT specialists has become central. At RECETOX, around 15 experts, including data managers, data analysts, and IT engineers, work collaboratively with different data sources to maintain data repositories, automate processes, and ensure secure data storage and visualization. Data collection is not merely a technical exercise but a collaborative process to provide access to data on the presence and distribution of chemicals in the environment for decision makers and relevant stakeholders, and also facilitates data interpretation.
Integrating Regulatory and Research Data: The Pollutant Release and Transfer Register
Parallel to the GMP DWH and GENASIS, the Czech Republic also established an Integrated Pollution Register (Integrovaný registr znečištění, IRZ) under the Kyiv Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTR) adopted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Unlike monitoring systems that track concentrations in the environment, the PRTR records emissions from facilities and installations. These can include industrial installations, waste management facilities, schools, hospitals, thermal plants, or any other entity that releases specific pollutants into the air, water, soil, or waste.
Czech authorities began collecting such data in 2002, initially using Excel-based formats. The database moved online in 2004, and by 2016, EU legislation had harmonized the system across all Member States. Currently, operators must report annually by 15 February on their pollutant releases. The PRTR covers over 90 pollutants and 230 industrial activities. Visualization tools enable users to see where releases occur, which facilities are responsible, and how emissions are distributed across environmental compartments.
After more than two decades, the Czech Republic’s experience offers valuable lessons for other countries developing POPs data systems. The first is that interoperability and harmonization are essential. Data must be structured and coded according to internationally agreed templates to ensure comparability. Second, maintaining accuracy requires both trust and accountability. Data providers should follow clear protocols, and verification systems are also important.
Finally, collaboration between science, government, and international partners is vital. National systems benefit immensely from participation in global networks like the GMP, which provide access to harmonized methods, templates, and visualization tools. Today, as global environmental governance increasingly relies on open data, digital interoperability, and real-time monitoring, the Czech model offers a valuable example of how national and regional information systems can evolve hand in hand.
To learn more about the Global NIP Update project, visit Global NIP Update | Green Policy Platform
For a deeper dive into the GGKP round table “Embedding POPs Data Management: Information Systems at National and Regional Levels”, you can access the full recordings and materials here: https://www.greenpolicyplatform.org/webinar/embedding-pops-data-management-information-systems-national-and-regional-levels
Feel free to explore POPs data management systems:
- GMP Data Warehouse: https://www.pops-gmp.org
- GENASIS: https://www.genasis.cz/
- PRTR - CZ : https://www.irz.cz/vyhledavani-v-irz
This article was curated by Soomin Bae, Knowledge Management Support Consultant, GGKP/GGGI and reviewed by Anastasiya Buchok, Senior Project Associate, GGKP/GGGI.
