The history of the IPC, at least at its outset, was closely bound up with that of the French Poplar Commission. When the French Commission was set up under an ordinance of 25 January 1947 by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Government instructed it to do its utmost to develop international co-operation aimed at promoting and fostering poplar cultivation and timber use. In the first months of operation, the French Commission therefore devoted considerable efforts to preparing a meeting of specialists from several European countries to discuss with them the problems faced at the time by poplar growers and users. Contacts had been facilitated by a study tour of Belgium and the Netherlands while the idea of an international meeting had been welcomed by Mr. Marcel Leloup, the then Director of the Forestry Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The prerequisites for success having thus been created, the French Poplar Commission organised an International Poplar Week from 19 to 26 April 1947. Eight European countries accepted the invitation of the French Minister of Agriculture - Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK Their representatives quickly agreed on the principle of establishing an international poplar commission. Mr. Leloup gave FAO's formal backing. The IPC thus was born, and 1947 can be regarded as the year when it was founded.
Militant enthusiasm and faith in the future of international co-operation were the godparents of the young commission, whose meetings followed each other at a fast pace. The second session was organised in 1948 by Italy, which has subsequently played an outstanding role in the success of the IPC. A further four international congresses were held between 1945 and 1953. In 1954, a poplar conference for the Near and Middle East was arranged jointly by Lebanon and Syria. In 1956, Argentina received the participants in the First Regional Poplar Conference for Latin America. At the X session in 1959, 21 countries were represented by some 125 delegates while at the XX session in 1996 27 member countries and 6 non-member countries attended, with 207 delegates, advisers and observers participating.
At present, the IPC has the following 36 member countries:
Argentina Korea (Republic of)
Austria Lebanon
Belgium Morocco
Bulgaria Netherlands
Canada New Zealand
Chile Pakistan
China (People's Republic of) Portugal
Croatia Romania
Egypt South Africa
France Spain
Germany Sweden
Hungary Switzerland
India Syria
Iran (Islamic Republic of) Tunisia
Iraq Turkey
Ireland United Kingdom
Italy United States of America
Japan Yugoslavia
