Third FAO–IAEA International Conference on Area-wide Management of Insect Pests: Integrating the Sterile Insect and Related Nuclear and Other Techniques

The successful implementation of area-wide pest management programmes integrating sterile insects with other control technologies against a number of key plant, veterinary, and medical insect pests is a peaceful application of nuclear technology. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have over the last 50 years played, and will continue to play, a critical role in supporting their Member States in the development and application of these environmentally friendly pest management methods. The concept of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM), in which the total population of a pest in an area is targeted, is increasingly being considered for related genetic, biological and other pest suppression technologies. Insect movement, occurring sometimes over long distances, is generally underestimated. As a consequence, most conventional pest management is implemented locally in uncoordinated action against only segments of a pest population, resulting very often in unsustainable control. On the other hand, an AW-IPM approach involves a preventive rather than a reactive strategy, whereby all individuals of the pest population are targeted in time and space, resulting in more cost-effective and sustainable pest management.