REPORT of THE INTERNATIONAL PLANT PROTECTION
CONVENTION SECRETARIAT (IPPC)
The following communication,
received on 29 June 2016, is being circulated at the request of the International
Plant Protection Convention secretariat (IPPC).
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1. This report covers the period April – June 2016.
2. The Eleventh Session of Commission on Phytosanitary Measures
(CPM-11) took take place on 4-8 April 2016.
3. The Committee is invited to note that the number of contracting
parties to the IPPC remains at 182.
4. Nine Standards were adopted and noted by consensus at CPM-11,
including: two International Standards on Phytosanitary Measures, two
Phytosanitary Treatments, and five Diagnostic Protocols. This is one of the
Commission's biggest achievements in standard setting, as the IPPC is the only
international standard setting organization for plant protection.
5. During CPM-11, the IPPC contracting parties also added three new
topics to the list of topics for IPPC standards and noted the review of 30
standards by Language Review Groups and 198 standards to incorporate ink
amendments. CPM-11 also adopted a new Standard Setting Procedure to help ensure
inclusiveness and transparency in setting standards, as well as the IPPC
Framework for Standards and Implementation, which will support the
cooperative work on setting and implementing standards. The CPM-11 discussed
the concept of a commodity standard and agreed to Terms of Reference for a
working group to further discuss the concept.
6. The IPPC secretariat also organized a very successful special topics
session on sea containers, with eight speakers presenting different views,
which was webcast to the world. Contracting parties applauded the efforts of
the presenters to provide a global view on this hot topic and decided to put the
development of the draft standard on hold, requesting the Bureau to develop
complimentary actions.
7. Of particular interest to the SPS Committee, the IPPC secretariat
held a pre-CPM-11 training session on the categorization of commodities
according to their pest risk – International Standard for Phytosanitary
Measures (ISPM) 32 – on 3 April 2016 in Rome, Italy. The training was attended
by 95 participants, including representatives from contracting parties, RPPOs
and international organizations, who actively contributed to the exercises and
discussions held.
8. The FAO-IPPC-CIHEAM International Workshop on Xylella
fastidiosa and the Olive Quick Decline Syndrome (OQDS) was
successfully held from 19-22 April 2016, in Bari, Italy. The Workshop was
organized by FAO, IPPC and CIHEAM (the International Centre for Advanced
Mediterranean Agronomic Studies), with support of the Near East Plant
Protection Organization (NEPPO) and the European Plant Protection Organization
(EPPO). This is the first international workshop on Xylella fastidiosa
since the pest was reported on olive trees in 2013, in Puglia, Italy. Over
140 participants attended the Workshop from 36 countries as well as eight
international and regional organizations.
9. The 4th IPPC seminar on Plant Health Standards and Food
Security, was held at FAO-HQ (Sheikh Zayed Centre) on 13 May 2016, which
focused on how standards for plant health directly enhance food security
globally. Over 100 participants attended the Seminar, including the permanent
representatives of three Rome-based UN agencies, members and observers of the
IPPC Standards Committee, as well as the IPPC and FAO staff.
10. The 28th IPPC Standards Committee (SC) convened from 9 to
13 May at FAO-HQ in Rome. Key discussions included: the review and approval of ISPMs
for country consultation, considering the reorganization of the suite of fruit
fly standards, oversight of the work of the Technical Panels, and discussions
on how to enhance the interactions between standard setting and implementation
facilitation units. Four draft ISPMs were approved for consultation: the draft
standards on surveillance, temperature treatments requirements, the amendments
to the Glossary and the International
movement of wood. All consultations on draft ISPMs this year will be
conducted through the new Online Comment System (from 1 July to 30 September
2016), available at https://ocs-new.ippc.int/.
Comments will also be requested on implementation issues for all standards that
are submitted for country consultation.
11. On conclusion of the STDF Project 350 "Global Phytosanitary
Manuals, Standard Operating Procedures and Training Kits" by the IPPC secretariat,
over 300 new phytosanitary technical resources have been posted, and more than
20 technical resources have been developed, including phytosanitary manuals,
e-learning tools, training kits, advocacy materials, factsheets and
photographic resources. The primary objective of this project was to enhance
the global phytosanitary capacity to protect plant resources from pests of
plants through strengthening contracting parties' ability to implement the IPPC
and its ISPMs. By providing contracting parties with a concrete set of
internationally accepted technical resources, the project aimed to support
implementation of core functions of contracting parties and ultimately work
towards: a) establishing and strengthening national plant health systems;
b) enhancing contracting party capacity to meet their international
obligations; c) improving/maintaining access to markets through setting
efficient phytosanitary systems; and d) supporting a national import and export
certification programme.
12. The report of the IPPC secretariat would not be complete without an
update on the secretariat's financial situation accompanied by a strong request
for additional resources to sustain the work programme beyond the a minimal one
to two year period. The secretariat has made significant strides in the secretariat's
financial management practices; clarity and transparency are no longer issues –
lack of sustained resources for operations is the primary problem. Secretariat
operational funds are basically resourced by trust funds and projects, while
the payroll comes primarily from the regular programme. Any extra resources come
from project funds, or are provided from other donors, or in the form of
in-kind contributions. A key change made in the past few years is the improved
rigour and transparency of secretariat budgeting and the annual work plan.
13. While there is a commitment from FAO to provide regular programme
funds to the secretariat, as noted above these resources primarily provide
support for personnel. There is a clear need to stabilise and provide sustained
investment in core operational programmes. One way this could be done is by
introducing sustained voluntary contributions. Such a fund could provide a more
stable basis to establish operational and longer-term work programmes. This
topic was discussed and supported by the Bureau for further discussion at the
Strategic Planning Group meeting in October 2016, with a plan to introduce the
idea at CPM-12 in 2017.
14. In reference to CPM-12 (2017), during CPM-11 the Republic of Korea
offered, and the CPM accepted, to host CPM-12 in Incheon, Korea. This will
be the first time in the history of the CPM that the meeting will be held
outside of Rome. The IPPC secretariat greatly appreciates this generous offer
and is looking forward to a highly successful CPM-12.
15. Finally, at the opening session of CPM-11, Dr Rudy Rabbinge, emeritus
professor at Wageningen University & Research, delivered a keynote address
emphasizing the crucial role of Plant Health in Food Security in the past and
in the future. This keynote address helped to kick-off the thematic year of
Plant Health and Food Security, one of the five thematic years leading up to a
hoped-for International Year of Plant Health in 2020. For 2017, the theme is
"Plant Health and Trade Facilitation".
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