So, what are the hopes for Integrated Pest Management?
by Gary Gardner araquat and Nature working in perfect Harmony,” proclaims the caption of a Malaysian ads for one of the world’s more common pesticides. A photo shows lush green palm trees surrounding a farmer’s hut. “Groundwater, rivers, streams and lakes are not affected by paraquat,” the ad assures us. “Paraquat is not harmful to our wildlife.” But paraquat’s harmony is likely to be lost on those who know the pesticide well: farmers with paraquat-induced organ damage, relatives of farm workers killed by paraquat, and biologists concerned about paraquat’s effects on creatures from to bees to horses. The language of the ad reflects an underlying tension at the heart of pest management today. On one hand, the adverse economic, health, and environmental effects of pesticide use are ever more apparent. All over the world, governments and farmers look increasingly to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) – a strategy meant to minimize pesticide use by relying on natural methods of pest control
