Natural pest control

According to recent estimates by the World Health Organization, approximately one million people are taken ill every year with pesticide poisoning. Some 20,000 die in agony. There is also an ever-growing threat of irreversible damage to the environment - soil, water, air, flora and fauna - because of pesticides. In the industrialized countries there is a slowly-growing: awareness of these problems, but in the developing world most of the attention is still geared to famine prevention. It is now recognized that this will be achieved not so much by concentrating on yield increases as by long-term safeguarding of natural resources such as soil and water and by the maintenance of a natural balance between such resources and the plants and animals which thrive on them. The Pesticides Action Network (PAN-Europe) has produced a report which is an introduction to the protection of plants without synthetic pesticides. Fighting Pests the Natural Wayaims to give an insight into natural pest control, especially in developing countries, and so contribute To the development of a form of agriculture which could supply future generations with food without destroying the natural environment. Biological, biotechnological, and physical methods of control are outlined, as well as the importance of crop rotation, soil tillage and field hygiene. The book explains how to produce easy-to-make, low-cost pesticide sprays based on protective substances occurring in plants. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and locally adapted cultivation methods are also discussed. The booklet includes a list of institutions and organizations which can give further information. It should be read as a source of suggestions and proposals for action concerning plant protection which will not be harmful to the environment. Fighting Pests the Natural Way, 1988, 46pp, also available in German and Spanish , price DF18 or US$4. Pesticides Action Network (PAN-EUROPE) Damrak 83-1 1012 LN Amsterdam THE NETHERLANDSFighting Pests the Natural Way, 1988, 46pp, also available in German and Spanish , price DF18 or US$4. Pesticides Action Network (PAN-EUROPE) Damrak 83-1 1012 LN Amsterdam THE NETHERLAND