Theoretical Support of Holistic Pest Management

This chapter presents the most outstanding aspects of the theory of Holistic Pest Management (HPM). The reasons why HPM emerges as a new paradigm for protection of plants, animals and human beings are explained. This paradigm draws on the convergence of three schools of thought: holistic management (system approach), agroecology (agricultural production and conservation of natural resources) and complex thinking (emphasis on interactions). It is mentioned that unlike Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which makes decisions based on pest densities, decisions in the HPM are made based on pest risk, which means putting in the center of the system the producers and their families. Thus, risk reduction involves not only preventing damage from pests, it also means reducing vulnerability and increasing the response capacity and resilience of the system. To achieve this, a process that starts thinking and acting holistically is proposed. This means that farmers promote various actions to improve their income and well-being with support of specialists who facilitate their processes, products and services. This requires a pest management program that promotes the organization, participation and self-management of farmers, to enable them to take advantage of knowledge and technologies to prevent, rather than control, pests.