Proponents of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) advocate its use to reduce or eliminate the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture, since excessive pesticide use may be a threat to both human health and the environment. Proponents of biotechnology believe that the use of novel products, such as transgenic plants with insect resistance, will reduce the need for chemical pesticides. However the use of such novel products within IPM systems may also create potential risks. This volume reviews such issues and discusses the potential benefits of and constraints to the applications of biotechnology in IPM systems, especially in developing countries. It also considers the related policy issues confronting decision-makers in national agricultural research systems and international development agencies. The book consists of revised versions of papers presented at a conference hosted by the Rockefeller Foundation and held in Bellagio, Italy in October 1993.

This book had its genesis in Alexandria, Egypt in March 2002, at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, when the new library hosted a conference on Biotechnology and Sustainable Development: "Voices of the South and North." Here, a group of modern scholars met to review the state of the art in relation to the applications of biosciences in human health, food and agriculture and the environment, and address the ethical, institutional, regulatory and socio-economic issues that affect their use. The goal was to identify ways and means by which the new life sciences could be mobilized in the service of humanity and especially to improve the livelihoods of poor people.