An International Association was recently inaugurated to bring together scientists from diverse disciplines with a common interest in the plant protection sciences. The International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences (IAPPS) will provide a global umbrella for the plant protection sciences to facilitate and promote the application of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to a significantly greater portion of the world's crop and forest ecosystems.

The formation of IAPPS was approved by the Standing Committee and the General Assembly of the 14th International Plant Protection Congress (IPPC) held in Jerusalem, Israel, July, 1999. That action concluded a four-year planning process. Future IPPCs (scheduled each four years) will be held under the auspices of IAPPS.

An action that led to the establishment of IAPPS was taken by the Standing Committee of the IPPCs in 1995 when it established the Future Directions Committee that planned and guided the founding process for the new Association. This initiative was motivated by (1) the recognition that the plant protection sciences have become organizationally more separated over the past four decades and (2) the continuing high estimated losses to potential production that are due to pest of all classes.

The IPPC was founded in 1946 with the convening of its first congress in Belgium. Thus, for more than 50 years the IPPCs have provided a global forum for plant protection scientists to exchange new information and ideas. During the 1960s IPM emerged as a new paradigm, and has since gained global favor as an ecological-based approach for integrating pest management tactics. However, during the same period there emerged new international plant protection organizations (congresses, federations) that have segregated the principal plant protection disciplines with the probable result of limiting the multi-disciplinary approaches required to implement broad-based IPM programs. The International Congress of Plant Pathology was established in 1968 which was followed by the establishment of the Congress of Entomology, the Congress of Weed Science, and most recently the Federation of Plant Nematologists. IAPPS does NOT propose to disband these organizations; quite the contrary, each of the plant protection disciplines must have strong professional organizations that serve the development and communications needs of their memberships! But through Affiliate Memberships, IAPPS offers a new framework through which to promote renewed dialogue and to foster the multi-disciplinary, team approach essential for the development and maintenance of dynamic IPM systems. IAPPS is an "umbrella" organization through which the plant protection disciplines can realize collective voice and strength as a major component of the agricultural sciences.

A recent estimate of pre-harvest loss caused by pests to principal food and cash crops is 42% of potential production on a global basis (Oerke, et al, 1994; Elsevier). This alarmingly high loss to pests in the crop production system suggests that the most economical and practical approach for increasing food production to meet growing demands would be the development and utilization of IPM systems on a larger percentage of the world’s principal crops. If the world is to provide food and fibre for an additional population of 2.1 billion by 2025 on essentially the same land base, the most logical option is to reduce the pest losses and thus enhance productivity. By representing the breadth of plant protection, IAPPS seeks to have a major impact on program policy and funding priorities within the agricultural sector that recognizes the need to reduce crop losses due to pests by the application of IPM

IAPPS has four classes of membership: INDIVIDUAL [plant protection scientists, consultants, practitioners; etc.]; AFFILIATE [other plant protection societies, congresses and organizations [without fee]); ASSOCIATE [research institutes, centers, and organizations (with fee)] and CORPORATE [corporations and businesses that produce plant protection products (with fee)]. IAPPS is organized as eight Regional Network Centers each headed by a Regional Coordinator. Each country has a designated "Country Representative", and these representatives will comprise the Regional Network Council in each region. The Councils will identify plant protection problems common to the region and develop collaborative regional projects. In Developing Countries, funding will be sought through bi-lateral and multi-lateral development agencies.

The Official Journal of IAPPS is Crop Protection published by Elsevier Science of Amsterdam. An individual IAPPS membership includes a subscription to the electronic (on-line) version of Crop Protection. An annual individual membership is US$50 for scientists from developed countries and US$35 for scientists from developing countries. An annual subscription to the print version of Crop Protection can be added to an individual membership for an additional US$50. The Crop Protection journal has no page charges which makes it very attractive to scientists worldwide.

IAPPS is very fortunate to have as its President, Dr. Hans R. Herren. Among many other honors, Dr. Herren received the 1995 World Food Prize in recognition of his outstanding work in developing and executing a biological control program for the mealybug which was devastating the cassava crop of Sub-Saharan Africa. The other members of the IAPPS Governing Board are likewise outstanding scientists who are dedicated to the success of the organization. All of them are bringing to IAPPS a wealth of knowledge and experience in IPM that will contribute to the achievement of the Association’s goals and objectives. Their names, positions, and e-mail addresses are given below.

Individuals, societies, congresses, research/extension institutions, and corporations are invited to enroll as members in order to contribute to the mission and goals of IAPPS and to share in the member benefits that it offers. For additional general information on IAPPS and for access to a membership application, log onto <http://www.plantprotection.org> or send an e-mail request to j_apple@ncsu.edu.

*DR. HANS R. HERREN, KENYA

<herren@africaonline.co.ke>

*DR. BARUCH RUBIN, ISRAEL

<rubin@agri.huji.ac.il>

*DR. YORAM ROSSLER, ISRAEL

<rossler@netvision.net.il>

*DR. BILL TWEEDY, USA

<bill.tweedy@griffinLLC.com>

*DR. J. LAWRENCE APPLE, USA

<j_apple@ncsu.edu>

REPRESENTATIVE FROM INDUSTRY

*DR. PIERRE URECH, BELGIUM (ECPA)

<pierre.urech@ecpa.be>

DR. ZHOU DARONG, CHINA

<zhou.dr@263.net>

DR. NANCY RAGSDALE, USA

<nnr@ars.usda.gov>

**DR. GRAHAM MATTHEWS, UK

<g.matthews@ic.ac.uk>

<techsec@bcpc.org>

<besri@acdim.net.ma>

<snagarajan@flashmail.com>

<yam-izur@nodai.ac.jp>

<Paul.Wellings@exec.csiro.au>

<klassen@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU>

<A.BELLOTTI@CGIAR.ORG>

____________________________________

* Members of the IAPPS Executive Committee.

** Ex Officio, non-voting.

[Printed in Crop Protection 19: 69-72. 2000]