Historical background

IOBC is the acronym of the International Organization for Biological Control of Noxious Animals and Plants. The organization was founded in 1956 in Europe under the auspices of the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS). At that time, ecologists and entomologists had serious concerns about environmental and health effects of chemical pest control, and they considered biological control an important alternative for pesticides. Biological control was of course not new to science. The beginning of “modern” biological control and the first great success dates back to 1888, when entomologists from California brought back the Vedalia beetle from Australia, propa­gated them and released about 10 000 beetles against the invasive cottony cushion scale insect in citrus. After this project, many successes followed and several large national organizations for the development of biological control programmes were created. In continental Europe, biological control was practised in few countries and by a small number of researchers. Therefore, it was only a handful European scientists that started to prepare the grounds already in 1948 to create an organization for biological control of pests. This resulted in 1956 in the IOBC, which was originally mainly a European affair. In 1971, IOBC Global was established and the European and Mediterranean region became one of the Six Regional Sections which represent the world’s major biogeographical zones. The first technical bodies of IOBC were created immediately after the organization was founded. In 1956, the Commission for “Determination and Identification of Entomophagous Insects” and the “Publication Commission” were established, followed by many Working Groups (WG) and Commissions in the coming years (for details see Boller et al., 2006). It is noteworthy that the first WG on “Integrated Protection of Fruit Crops” was already created in 1956, and this WG continues to be very active until today.

Objectives of the IOBC

The objectives of the Organization are laid down in the statutes and in the mission statements of IOBC Global (http://www.iobc-global.org) and of the Regional Sections e.g. of the West Palaearctic Regional Section (http://www.iobc-wprs.org) which includes Western Europe, the Mediterranean countries and countries of the near East and Asia up to Iran. These objectives are:

Geographic range of the six Regional Sections of the IOBC

The geographic range of the six regional sections is presented in Fig. 1. The umbrella of the Regional Sections (RS) is given by IOBC Global which has a coordinative function between activities of the RS. The total estimated membership of all RS of IOBC was approximately 3300 in the year 2006 (Boller et al., 2006). Each RS has its own governing bodies (e.g. Executive Committee, Council) and structures serving best the purpose of the Section. Major activities are provided by Commissions and Working Groups of RS and of IOBC Global.

The role of IOBC/WPRS for the European and Mediterranean crop protection

The West Palaearctic Regional Section of the IOBC (IOBC/WPRS) has at the present time 20 Working Groups (WG) and four Commissions which are listed below. The WG can be categorised in crop, method and pest focused groups with some thematic overlaps between groups. WG and Commissions can be established and dissolved by the Council according to the needs and depending on the WG activities and outputs. A full list of all presently existing and former WG and Commissions of IOBC/WPRS is given by Boller et al. (2006).

Commission on guidelines for integrated production

This Commission was founded in 1976. The first principles of Integrated Production (IP) taking into account IPM within the whole context of production, marketing and consumer’s demands were formulated for the first time ever. Activities of the first years were focused on orchard IP. Conceptual frameworks for IP and the underlying principles and strategies were defined and a number of fruit producers’ organizations adopted the IP concept and created the first labels based on IOBC IP guidelines in some European countries. The definitions, principles and crop specific IP guidelines were published in 1993. Endorsement of producers’ organizations followed later (since 1998), and a toolbox to facilitate endorsed and candidate organizations was developed. IP Guidelines for perennial and all major annual crops were developed in collaboration with crop focused WG and they are periodically revised. These IOBC documents receive world-wide international recognition as they serve as standards that are often cited and referred to in Europe and in other continents. IP Guidelines are often used as a baseline to define Integrated Production. A very recent example of recognition and value of the IOBC IP principles and crop specific technical guidelines is the prominent citation in a study carried out for the European Commission by BiPRO (Beratungsgesellschaft für inte­grierte Problemlösungen) and JKI (Julius Kühn-Institut, Germany) in which the development of guidance for establishing IPM principles was analyzed and evaluated. Based on this study, it is expected that many of the IP principles and concepts generated by IOBC will be taken-up and implemented in future national IPM action plans.

Working Group on pesticides and beneficial organisms

As a consequence of observed adverse effects of pesticides, a group of scientists proposed this WG which was approved by the IOBC/WPRS Council in 1974. The first period was marked by the development of international standard test methods with common principles that allowed for evaluating effects of pesticides on a range of predators and parasitoids. These methods were applied in joint testing programs in which hundreds of active ingredients and products were tested and effects compared among the test organisms. Based on this information, recommendations on the use of pesticides were made and given to advisory services and growers. Especially greenhouse vegetable producers with biological control programs were very receptive to such information and later, biocontrol companies produced their own recommendations based on the WG data. Standard guidelines with laboratory, semi-field and field methods to test the side-effects of pesticides on more than 20 natural enemies were published in many IOBC Bulletins and in an EPPO Bulletin. The work of the WG and its publications had a great impact on regulatory authorities in many European countries and regulators attended the annual meetings regularly. The cooperation with national and EU regulatory authorities and the close contact with the pesticide industry lead to common activities that attracted other international organizations such as SETAC (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Europe), EPPO and the OECD. A joint meeting of these organizations in 1994 was the starting point to discuss side-effect testing on predators and parasitoids in the regulation of pesticides in Europe. Intensive cooperation resulted from this meeting and carried on for the next six years with a number of joint meetings, ring testing and validating of test methods and of the production of joint publications in 2000 and 2001. As a consequence of these activities, side-effect testing of natural enemies has become a part of the eco-toxicological testing and evaluation of pesticides in Europe and elsewhere.

Working Group on integrated protection in protected crops

This WG started its activities in 1968 and remained as such until 1983 when the WG divided into two WG according to climate (one for temperate climate and one for Mediterranean climate). Cooperation between the two greenhouse WG has been very good from the start and members from each group attend the meetings of the other group and help teaching and organizing training courses on IPM in greenhouses. During the first phase of the WG, coordination of experimentation and cooperative research on natural enemies and IPM was the first priority and results obtained with new natural enemies in one country were quickly implemented in other countries. Later in the 1980s, fine tuned IPM programs were established for different greenhouse crops in a number of European countries. An important activity was to act as liaison between researchers, advisory services, producers of natural enemies and growers which allowed the recognition of the needs of coordinated research. During the 1990s, the evaluation of natural enemies and the development of quality control criteria and methods for the most important commercially produced natural enemies was the focus. Nowadays, the work of both greenhouse WG encompasses studies on new pests and the search for appropriate natural enemies, on the development of new strategies for the use of biological control agents, on the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on biological control, on adaptation of IPM programs to incorporate new greenhouse technologies, etc. The two greenhouse WG offer regular platforms where scientists and biocontrol industry meet to exchange information, discuss new control strategies and initiate joint activities to solve new pest and disease problems in greenhouses.

Conclusions

IOBC is the only international organization to permanently promote biological control and IPM/IP since over 50 years and to advocate and strengthen its use in crop protection systems. The organization was founded in 1956 and the first crop specific WG with the aim to develop IPM in orchards was established as early as 1959. Many more IPM and IP strategies and systems were developed in IOBC/WPRS WG since, and it is with great satisfaction that IOBC sees policy finally adopting ideas and principles of IPM/IP created to a great extent in IOBC WG and Commissions. IOBC/WPRS has a long standing tradition to collaborate with all stakeholders that endorse biological control and IPM/IP, and it is through the many WG and Commissions that innovation of crop protection strategies are generated and implemented into practice.