International Biological Program (IBP)
The International Biological Program (IBP) was a collaborative initiative among scientists that operated from September 1964 to June 1974, focusing on understanding ecosystems and assessing the effects of both natural and human-induced changes. The program comprised a planning phase from 1964 to 1967, followed by a research phase until 1974, and was primarily centered on two areas: environmental management and human adaptability. The environmental aspect received more funding, particularly through the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the United States, and involved multidisciplinary teams studying five major biomes: grasslands, eastern deciduous forests, coniferous forests, deserts, and tundra.
On the human adaptability side, researchers studied various populations undergoing significant changes, yielding insights into nutrition, child development, and inherited variations. Despite its ambitious objectives, the IBP faced critiques, particularly regarding the limited interaction between environmental and human studies, leading to a separation of natural systems and human impacts. After the IBP concluded, its legacy influenced subsequent programs, including the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), which further emphasized interdisciplinary approaches to ecosystem research under varying human impacts. Although the IBP itself is no longer active, its foundational ideas continue to inform and shape ecological and anthropological research efforts today.
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International Biological Program (IBP)
IDENTIFICATION: International coalition of scientists who studied ecosystems and evaluated the impacts of natural and human-made changes
DATES: September, 1964-June 30, 1974
The work of the International Biological Program increased cooperation among scientists around the world and helped lay the groundwork for further international efforts to study and preserve ecosystems.
The planning phase of the International Biological Program (IBP) took place from September, 1964, through June, 1967; the research stage lasted from July 1, 1967, to June 30, 1974. The program had two foci: environmental management and human adaptability. The environmental half was much better funded; in the United States, funding came largely from the National Science Foundation (NSF). W. Frank Blair, an American animal ecologist and administrator for the US IBP team from 1968 to 1974, helped set up multidisciplinary teams that studied five biomes: grasslands (the largest and most successful project), eastern deciduous forest, coniferous forest, desert, and tundra. Joseph S. Weiner, a British biological anthropologist, organized the planning for the human adaptability section. American scientists studied five populations that were experiencing dramatic change: South American Indian, circumpolar, high altitude, migrant, and nutritionally stressed peoples.
Modeling complete ecosystems was a primary goal of the biome studies, but modeling subsystems was more practical. Many of the researchers gained new skills over the course of the program. The biome studies also provided more balanced coverage than did nonbiome research in the four areas traditionally examined by ecologists—abiotic, biotic producers (green plants), biotic consumers (animals), and biotic decomposers (bacteria, fungi and some animals)—in that more attention was paid to cycling and decomposition. Multidisciplinary cooperation resulted in standardized methodologies and techniques, and the human studies provided baseline information on child development, nutrition, and inherited variation that was later used by international agencies for planning. However, interactions were minimal between investigators working on the environmental management side and those on the human adaptability side of the IBP, and so the study of natural systems was essentially separated from the study of human impacts such as agriculture. The human adaptationists were also criticized for neglecting biocultural interactions.
The IBP officially ceased its studies in 1974, but in the United States some funding was transferred to a new NSF program called Ecosystem Studies. In addition, the human adaptability program served as the framework for and was superseded by the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) established during the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1970. The MAB differs from the IBP in its intergovernmental structure and because its primary objective is to use interdisciplinary teams to determine how ecosystems function under different levels of human impact. The MAB’s activities include training, informational exchange, and support for research in developing areas. An important element is the incorporation of input.
The US Department of State established the US counterpart to the MAB in 1974. Six program directorates were established: a reserve program and five research foci on ecosystems (high latitude, human-dominated, marine and coastal, temperate, and tropical). Although the IBP no longer exists, its vision is being carried forward.
Bibliography
Appel, Toby A. Shaping Biology: The National Science Foundation and American Biological Research, 1945-1975. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000.
Newman, Michael C., and William H. Clements. “Introduction to Ecosystem Ecology and Ecotoxicology.” In Ecotoxicology: A Comprehensive Treatment. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 2008