At its Second Session, the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme recommended to the Executive Director that "Urgent steps should be taken, in cooperation with FAO, towards the development of environmentally sound pest management which would include the collection and dissemination among developing countries of existing knowledge concerning the control of pests by non-chemical methods; programmes undertaken by groups of countries to initiate pilot projects to test new methods and provide training on their application should be encouraged." This FAO/UNEP Consultation on Pest Management Systems for the Control of Pests of Cotton (hereafter referred to as the Consultation) is the direct outcome of this request.