Climate change is adversely impacting agricultural productivity at local and regional scales, which is impacting the price and availability of food, fiber, and energy worldwide. More frequent occurrences of climate extremes including high temperatures and variations in rain levels are influencing both native and invasive pest species alongside production of commodities. However, changes in agricultural practices can help slow the continued progression of climate change. Innovations in production practices to increase carbon storage in soil and plant matter, reduce energy use, produce biofuels, and reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions are moving the ag sector from a driver of climate change to a force for climate change mitigation.
Pesticides are an essential tool in many conventional farming systems, allowing for increased yields and related profits. Nevertheless, 29% of the global population still live without adequate food access. Pesticides also help to protect people and animals from disease. Insecticide and herbicide resistance costs countries billions of dollars and could result in millions of lives lost due to famine and vector-borne diseases. Pest adaptation repeatedly outpaces the evolution of pest management practices. Continued research and education in this area is crucial to the continued viability of our food production and public health sectors.
Increasing sustainable pest management practices requires greater use of biocontrol and ecological, genetic, and advanced technical tools and strategies. Additional improvements in sustainable practices can often be achieved by augmenting tried and tested biocontrol with the newest technology. During the past two decades we have witnessed dramatic changes, including the use of technologies such as advanced imaging to monitor crops and RNA interference (RNAi)-based biopesticides engineered to target a pest’s genes. Advances in this area are deepening our understanding of ecosystem services as they spur development of astonishing new technologies.
Biodiversity is impacted by habitat loss, pollution, overexploitation of natural resources, and invasive species. Scientists generally agree that while some species are fairly resilient in the face of changing environmental conditions, habitat loss and the influx of invasive species can reduce biodiversity and adversely impact endangered species. Recent reviews of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List (considered to be the most comprehensive list of threatened species worldwide) reveals that, globally, invasive species threaten 14% of critically endangered terrestrial vertebrate species. As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and environmental protection organizations worldwide implement new regulations to protect endangered species, approaches to the management of invasive pests must and can advance.
Vector-borne diseases pose a considerable public health problem worldwide. Climate change, globalization, urbanization, and a human population over 8 billion are factors leading to increasing rates of emerging and re-emerging disease. The ongoing evolution of pathogens, reservoir host populations, and antimicrobial drug resistance further exacerbate the issue. While the clinical treatment of vector-borne infectious disease is improving, efforts to effectively surveil and manage vectors and prevent disease are falling behind. Through transdisciplinary and community-engaged ecoepidemiology research along with collaborative, multisectoral development of disease management and policy, an IPM approach can improve public health outcomes for everyone.
