Announcements Are you producing a newsletter, holding a meeting, running an organization or rearing a natural enemy that you want other biocontrol workers to know about? Send us the details and we will announce it in BNI. BCPC ConferenceThis annual, international conference organized by the British Crop Protection Council (BCPC) for the global crop protection industry will be held in Brighton, UK on 18-21 November 2002, and this year focuses on pests and diseases. Always a feature of this Conference is the presentation of new compounds and strategies for pest and disease management in temperate and tropical crops. Specialist sessions will examine key strategic topics that will influence the management of pests and diseases in the future with an emphasis on meeting expected challenges, including those faced in ICM (Integrated Crop Management) and organic farming and by use of biological control agents. Website: www.bcpc.org/ Contact: Brighton
Conference Secretariat, 5 Maidstone Buildings Mews, Bankside,
London SE1 1GN, UK Reason to Consider GMOsPartisan arguments over GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and their environmental effects continue to be highlighted in the world's media. Rational debate is going on, however, although that rarely makes headlines. Following on from our announcement of the IOBC Conference in Montpellier in November [see BNI December 2001], here are two more meetings this autumn on related themes. The International Symposia on the Biosafety of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) have been held biennially, to address the scientific basis for biosafety issues associated with GMOs (including environmental, as well as human and animal health concerns). The Symposium series is designed for senior scientists, policy makers, regulators, environmentalists and industry representatives involved in the commercial release of GMOs. The 7th Symposium will be held on 10-14 October 2002 in Beijing, China, under the responsibility of the newly-founded International Society for Biosafety Research. Sessions will focus on diverse issues, including
Contact: Professor Hongya
Gu, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China An international conference is being organized jointly by the UK Association of Applied Biologists and the Royal Entomological Society to discuss the ecological dimensions of GMOs. This will be held in Reading University, UK on 9-11 September 2002. Sessions will be organized on the themes: Website: Contact: Carol Millman Biocontrol in CaliforniaThe 3rd California Conference on Biological Control (CCBC) will be held on 15-16 August 2002 at the University of California (UC), Davis, providing an opportunity to review the latest information on biological control and its application for pest management in California. Sessions will cover:
Conference information: Or contact: Mark S. Hoddle,
Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA
92521, USA IPPC in ChinaThe 15th International Plant Protection Congress (IPPC) will be held in Beijing, China on 6-11 July, 2003, sponsored by the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences and organized by: China Society of Plant Protection. The 15th IPPC will focus on current progress in plant protection sciences and technology, and its foreseeable development in the 21st century. To meet the new challenge facing plant protection in the new millennium, the tentative theme of the Congress is `The First Great Gathering for Plant Protection in 21st Century'. Topics covered will include:
Pest management will also be considered by system, i.e.: grain crops, commercial crops, orchards, forests, vegetable crops, grassland, flowers and lawns, farmland, pre-planting and postharvest, and for farmland rodents. Conference information: Or contact: Ms Wen Liping,
Secretariat, 15th IPPC, C/O Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese
Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100094 China African Insect ScienceThe 15th Biennial Meeting and Scientific Conference of the African Association of Insect Scientists (AAIS) will be held in Nairobi, Kenya on 11-14 June 2003, in partnership with the Entomological Society of Kenya (ESK). The conference coincides with AAIS Silver Jubilee (25th Anniversary) celebration. The theme of the 15th Biennial Meeting will be `Integrated Pest (IPM) and Vectors Management (IVM) on African Rural and Urban Livelihoods: Perspective and Future Strategies'. Subthemes will be:
Contact: The Hon.
Secretary, AAIS, Dr Francis E. Nwilene, West Africa Rice Development
Association, 01 BP 2551, Bouaké 01, Côte d'Ivoire Local Organizing Committee (LOC): Entomological Society of Kenya (ESK), PO Box 76662, Nairobi, Kenya IOBC Made EasyIOBC (the International
Organization for Biological Control of Noxious Animals and Plants) has
a revamped website at: IOBC was established in 1956 as a global organization and promotes environmentally safe methods of pest and disease control. As a voluntary organization of biological control workers, it gives individuals and organizations the opportunity to participate in biological control activities beyond their specific jobs and workplaces, to step outside their bureaucracies, and to contribute to the promotion of biological control worldwide. IOBC has developed a structure based primarily on a regional basis, but with another (working group) layer defined by topic, to meet these challenges. Currently there are six Regional Sections and ten Global Working Groups. Information dissemination is not easy in such a devolved structure - yet good communication is key to IOBC achieving its aims. The new site overcomes some of the hurdles. Easily navigable links between regions and working groups, with contact details, websites and newsletters, allow visitors quickly to gain an overview IOBC's interests, and for biocontrol workers in one (geographical or topical) area to keep up to date with other activities and interests of members. Contact: André Gassmann,
CABI Bioscience Switzerland Centre, CH-2800 Delémont, Switzerland Linking African IPM PractitionersThe new Africa Link website
is live at: The website has been developed by the Africa Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Link, a project of the IPM Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM CRSP), managed by the Office of International Research and Development (OIRD ) of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, USA with funding from two US Agency for International Development (USAID) units (the Bureau for Africa , and the Office of Sustainable Development ). The website is the latest venture of the project, which is fostering the development of a network of IPM practitioners in sub-Saharan Africa by facilitating access to the latest electronic communication and information exchange tools, in collaboration with AfricaLink (a USAID initiative), and with the Consortium for International Crop Protection (CICP ). The AFRIK-IPM listserv has been operating as an electronic forum for networking and information sharing between Integrated Pest Management (IPM) professionals throughout sub-Saharan Africa since March 1998, when it was set up for participants of the IPM Communications Workshop for Eastern/Southern Africa, held at the International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Nairobi, Kenya. Since then it has continued to serve individuals inside and outside the African continent with an interest in promoting IPM research and information dissemination for sub-Saharan Africa. Contact: Miriam Rich,
Office of International Research, and Development, 1060 Litton Reaves
Hall (0334), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060-0334, USA Good Ideas from the Global IPM FacilityThe legendary efficiency of the African `bush telegraph' as an information dissemination system has been brought bang up to date by the Global IPM Facility. eWAZO (from `wazo',
Kiswahili for `idea') is a new bi-monthly news service to provide
information from IPM programme development activities focusing on IPM
policy, education, and research at regional, country and local levels.
Launched in January 2002 by the Global IPM Facility from their office
in the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) head-quarters in
Rome, it will be edited by Kevin Gallagher: To subscribe to this free
service, contact M.E. Tagliati Also keep an eye on the
revamped Global IPM Facility website, available in English, French and
Spanish at: Although still under development, this looks set to provide a wide range of information about the Facility, its co-sponsors and donors and other international IPM-related information. Already available is useful information on its operations, which includes pages describing field activities throughout the world. Text-only and full versions of the complete site, to cater for all needs, set a good example that others could follow! New Whitefly WebsiteAfter 3 years of being
hosted by the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, a new EWSN (European
Whitefly Studies Network) website is now live at: The site is designed to provide rapid access to a wide range of whitefly-related information, including EWSN members' expertise and publications, EWSN activities including meetings, sponsors and partners (with links to websites) and the EWSN newsletters. Coming on-line are links to databases to allow access to detailed information on whitefly species, whitefly-transmitted viruses, natural enemies and control strategies, together with a facility for submitting new information and asking questions. Contact: EWSN Research
Facilitator, Department of Disease and Stress Biology, John Innes
Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK Rice IPM CDRiceIPM is a new interactive information and identification system released in November 2001 by the Centre for Pest Information Technology and Transfer (CPITT) and IRRI (the International Rice Research Institute), who have developed it jointly, with the help of an international team of IPM specialists from Southeast Asia. CPITT, part of the University of Queensland, Australia, develops innovative tools for training and decision support, which are currently being used in more than 25 countries. The new CD is structured according to the competency standards required for proficient IPM and thus aims to provide extension officers, researchers, students and farmers with a user-friendly and comprehensive source of information and training materials for improving management of pests in tropical rice. The new CD uses a range of techniques, including video, images, hypertext links and interactive keys, to cover pest ecology; crop checking; major insect pests, rats, diseases, weeds, nutrient deficiency and toxicity; crop growth and pest damage; pest management options and decision-making and economics. A separate section provides material for researchers and advisers on various aspects of implementing IPM, including Farmer Field Schools, multi-media campaigns, and stakeholder workshops. Information: Obtainable from:
CPS-Marketing and Distribution Unit, IRRI, DAPO Box 7777, Metro
Manila, Philippines |
