The International Biological Program (IBP) was an effort between 1964 and 1974 to coordinate large-scale ecological and environmental studies.
The IBP was organized under the leadership of C. H. Waddington beginning in 1962 and officially started in 1964, with the goal of exploring "The Biological Basis of Productivity and Human Welfare".
In its early years, Canadian and European ecologists were the main participants; by 1968, the United States also became heavily involved.
Though the impact of these studies was modest, the IBP marked a dramatic increase in the scale of funding for ecosystem ecology, which remained high (relative to earlier levels) even after the conclusion of the program in June 1974.
Evidence from here proved decisive in the 1980s to track down acid rain as a major cause of forest decline.