Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures - Report of International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) to the SPS Committee meeting on 13 - 15 November 2024 for the period : June 2024 - October 2024 - Communication from the IPPC secretariat

REPORT of INTERNATIONAL PLANT PROTECTION CONVENTION (IPPC)
to the SPS Committee meeting on 13-15 november 2024
for the Period: june 2024-october 2024

Communication from the IPPC secretariat

The following communication, received on 16 October 2024, is being circulated at the request of the International Plant Protection Convention secretariat (IPPC).

 

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The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is an intergovernmental treaty signed by 185 contracting parties (as of October 2023), aiming to protect the world's plant resources from the spread and introduction of pests, and facilitate safe trade. The Convention introduced the development and implementation of International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) as its main tool to achieve its goals, making it the sole global standard setting organization for plant health.

The IPPC is one of the "Three Sisters" recognized by the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Agreement, along with the Codex Alimentarius Commission for food safety standards and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) for animal health standards.

1  Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM)

1.1.  The next session of the CPM (CPM-19, 2025) is tentatively schedule for 17 to 21 March 2025, at FAO Headquarter, Rome, Italy.

1.2.  Several topics are to be discussed and agreed by the CPM-19, including:

·_        Adoption of international standards for phytosanitary measures (TENTATIVE. Pending the IPPC Standards Committee (SC) revision and approval)

o_   Draft annex International movement of fresh Mangifera indica fruit (2021-011) to ISPM 46 (Commodity-specific standards for phytosanitary measures)

o_   Draft annex Use of systems approaches in managing the pest risk associated with the movement of wood (2015-004) to ISPM 39 (International movement of wood).

·_        Adjustments to the IPPC Standard Setting Procedure

·_        CPM Recommendations

·_        Review of topics proposals to the IPPC work programme

·_        Implementation of IPPC Strategic Framework – Overarching report on the implementation of the eight DAIs

·_        Update from other CPM Focus Groups

·_        Implementation issues

o_   IPPC Guides and Training Materials

o_   Update on projects managed by the IPPC secretariat

o_   IPPC Observatory

o_   Update on the Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation

o_   Update on coordination of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense TR4 action

·_        Collaboration with Regional Plant Protection Organizations

·_        Other emerging topics

o_   Update on One Health and antimicrobial resistance

o_   Update on Africa Phytosanitary Programme[1]

o_   Dispute Settlement Oversight Body

·_        (Tentative) Science Session

·_        Successes and challenges in implementing the IPPC

·_        Financial Report and Budget

·_        Update on Communication Activities

·_        External cooperation

2  Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) Bureau[2] and the IPPC Strategic Planning Group (SPG)[3]

2.1.  The CPM Bureau guides the CPM on the strategic direction, financial and operational management of its activities. The purpose of the Strategic Planning Group (SPG), which meets at least once a year, is to provide a strategic perspective to the work of the IPPC community and support improvement through the provision of recommendations and advice to the CPM on any issues referred to it or related to its functions.

2.2.  Since June 2024, the CPM Bureau met once online in September and convened one face to face meeting in October 2024. The IPPC SPG took place the following week immediately after the October CPM Bureau. The main highlights were:

·_        The CPM Bureau agreed to review, by correspondence, the updated paper on the proposed procedure for adoption of CPM recommendations to check that the revisions agreed at the June 2024 meeting of the bureau had been incorporated;

·_        The CPM Bureau requested that the secretariat confirm whether the International Day of Plant Health would be observed in perpetuity or whether it would only be observed for a certain number of years;

·_        The CPM Bureau requested that the secretariat confirm the themes that have already been planned for the International Day of Plant Health and identify other relevant international days and years; and

·_        The CPM Bureau agreed to the provisional agenda for the SPG, subject to confirmation by the secretariat of missing information about papers and presenters.

3  Standards Committee[4]

3.1.  Since the last update from the IPPC secretariat to the SPS Committee, the IPPC Standards Committee (SC) will meet from 18-22 November 2024 at FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy, for its November meeting. The main focus will be to recommend draft ISPMs to the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) for adoption. The ISPMs to be recommended to CPM-19 (2025) are:

·_        Draft annex International movement of fresh Mangifera indica fruit (2021-011) to ISPM 46 (Commodity-specific standards for phytosanitary measures); and

·_        Draft annex Use of systems approaches in managing the pest risk associated with the movement of wood (2015-004) to ISPM 39 (International movement of wood).

4  Other discussions of SC November

4.1.  The SC will also discuss:

1._    Issues raised from the first consultation period;

2._    Draft Specification from first consultation for revision and approval;

3._    Review of Specifications for new topics; and

4._    Urgent issues from Technical Panels.

4.2.  The following DPs have been adopted by the SC, on behalf of the CPM, and will be published on the dedicated IPPC webpage of adopted ISPMs here.

·_        Revision of DP 09 Genus Anastrepha (2021-002)

·_        Revision of DP 25 Xylella fastidiosa (2021-003)

·_        Revision of DP 27 Ips spp. (2021-004)

4.3.  More information about the SC can be found at https://www.ippc.int/en/commission/standards-committee/.

5  Implementation and Capacity Development Committee (IC)[5]

5.1.  The May 2024 IC meeting was held face-to-face from 13 to 17 May in Rome. One of the main objectives of the IC May meeting was to discuss the decisions of CPM-18 (2024) that have an impact on the IC's work plan, as well as implementation issues in general, and to agree on ways of following up on these decisions. The IC agreed on the need to strengthen the resources allocated to implementation and capacity-building activities and to devote dedicated sessions at IPPC regional workshops to identify implementation issues and gather feedback from contracting parties. The IC also reviewed the conclusions relating to the other Development Agenda Items (DAIs) of the IPPC Strategic Framework, for which the IC is responsible for oversight: harmonization of electronic data exchange, management of courier and mail pathways, developing guidance for the use of third‑party entities, pest outbreak alert and response systems.

5.2.  The May meeting also provided an opportunity for the secretariat units (Standards Setting Unit and Integration Support Team) to update the IC on their respective activities. The IC discussed on how to improve collaboration with the Standards committee. Other important topics discussed during the meeting included the guides and materials recently published and those being developed with a focus on plant health curriculum training, the Implementation and Capacity Development (ICD) projects managed by the IPPC secretariat and the Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluations (PCEs) that have been carried out (9 completed and two ongoing) in the framework of the project Strengthening Food Control and Phytosanitary Capacities and Governance (GCP/GLO/949/EC). In addition, the results, of the desk study conducted to improve the tool and procedure for conducting PCE, enabled the IC to agree on a roadmap to implement these recommendations.

5.3.  During its May meeting, the IC, invites some IPPC partner organizations as observers. In 2024, the European Commission (EC), the Committee Linking Entrepreneurship-Agriculture-Development (COLEAD) and the STDF secretariat were invited to share their experiences and activities in relation to the IC's areas of competence and discuss opportunities for collaboration and synergies with IPPC's implementation and capacity development activities.

5.4.  The next IC meeting is scheduled from 11 to 15 November 2024, FAO HQ, Rome, Italy.

5.5.  For more information about the last IC meeting please consult the report (to be uploaded on IPP).

6  NEW IPPC Guides and training materials

6.1.  IPPC Guides and training materials are developed under the oversight of the Implementation and Capacity Development Committee (IC) to build national phytosanitary capacity and support implementation of the International Plant Protection Convention and associated international standards. Two new IPPC e-learning courses and five new IPPC guides were published in the last 18 months:

·_        National reporting obligations e-learning course

·_        Surveillance and pest status determination e-learning course

·_        Participating in the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures of the International Plant Protection Convention

·_        E-commerce: A guide to managing the pest risk posed by goods ordered online and distributed through postal and courier pathways

·_        Regulation of wood packaging material: Understanding the phytosanitary requirements for the movement of wood packaging material in international trade

·_        Emergency Preparedness: A guide for developing contingency plans for outbreaks of quarantine pests (EN, ES)

·_        Prevention, preparedness and response guidelines for Fusarium Tropical Race 4 (TR4) of banana (EN, FR)

7  IPPC Observatory[6]

7.1.  The IPPC Observatory is conducting an important global survey to assess how NPPOs are managing the increased phytosanitary risks associated with the rapid growth of e-commerce.[7] The survey, which was launched in August is expected to provide baseline data, which will be used to monitor the global evolution of phytosanitary e-commerce strategies. The study is expected to highlight challenges and successes in managing the pest risks associated with e-commerce at a national level.

7.2.  The survey collects information related to:

(i)_   national regulatory and non-regulatory frameworks;

(ii)the implementation of phytosanitary measures, and

(iii)_ monitoring of e-commerce.

7.3.  The results will be analysed, and a report will be published summarising the main findings and recommendations.

8  ePhyto

8.1.  The ePhyto Solution continues to provide user countries with the opportunity to exchange digital phytosanitary certificates with any country using the system.

8.2.  An increasing number of countries are progressively transitioning from paper-based to digitalized phytosanitary certification system by using the IPPC ePhyto Solution that went live in early 2019. It has accelerated rapidly over the past years with 135 countries on board in September 2024 (130 in December 2023) including 92 countries actively exchanging approximately 200,000 ePhytos monthly and 35 countries currently testing the system. Countries that have recently (June 2024-September 2024) registered to the ePhyto hub are Botswana and the Syrian Arab Republic. As of September 2004, about 7 million ePhytos had been exchanged successfully since the inception of the IPPC ePhyto Hub.

8.3.  A large part of the success can be attributed to the collaborative efforts between the secretariat and the many partners. These partners include first and foremost the ePhyto Steering Group (ESG) and the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC) who developed and continue to lead in developing the technical aspects and enhancements of the IPPC ePhyto Solution. Implementation has also been supported in some countries by Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF), the Industry Advisory Group (IAG) and the World Bank.

8.4.  The main challenge is to ensure the sustainable funding of the IPPC ePhyto Solution as it has so far been funded through projects from the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), or through donations from countries. Therefore, a funding model, with an initial total annual budget set at USD 1,263,000 was adopted at the 18th Session (April 2024) of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM-18) and will be implemented as a transitional pilot, starting in 2025 and to be reviewed after two years (2027). The CPM also noted that country contributions to the IPPC ePhyto Solution would not be mandatory for any country. To be noted that the Generic ePhyto National System (GeNS) is now available in five out of six FAO official languages namely Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish (Russian and Spanish being the latest versions released in May). Indeed, the GeNS is a centralized web-based system to allow countries that do not have a national system to produce, send and receive ePhytos through the Hub.

8.5.  More information can be found on the ePhyto webpage on the IPP[8].

9  International Day of Plant Health – IDPH

9.1.  The third International Day of Plant Health (IDPH)[9] was marked on 12 May 2024 with the theme "Plant health, safe trade and digital technology".

9.2.  The objectives of the IDPH were to increase public awareness and appreciation of the importance of plant health; drive positive behaviours towards practical ways that the public can prevent the movement of plant pests; and advocate for support by investing in national, regional and international plant health initiatives, and by promoting the IPPC and ISPMs.

9.3.  The IPPC secretariat organized a hybrid high-level event on 13 May (Monday) at the FAO headquarters which was officially opened by FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. Also speaking at the event were the Minister of Agriculture of Egypt, FAO ambassadors of Canada and Kenya and Undersecretary from USDA-APHIS. A technical session followed with speakers from the Ministry of Agriculture of Uganda, USDA-APHIS, Poste Italiane and the CPM Chair. The event was also webcast (see recording here).

9.4.  An exhibit was held at the FAO headquarters from 8-10 May which FAO staff, students and members of the SC visited. The exhibit featured messages on the importance of plant health to food security, environmental protection and safe trade, with a focus on educating people with the phytosanitary risks associated with e-commerce through an interactive display, as well as the breadth of adoption of the IPPC ePhyto Solution as visualized in a large global map (see photos here).

9.5.  FAO and IPPC held global digital campaigns weeks before the event, including sending out save-the-date emails, publishing the Get Involved Guide in 6 FAO languages, disseminating the IDPH digital assets, promoting the IDPH website and Trello board for social media, and developing two new videos: 1) sniffer dogs in Italy saving olive trees from Xylella fastidiosa; and 2) plant health and safe trade.

9.6.  Some of the notable IDPH celebrations around the world include a street parade in Ghana, tree planting in India and Kenya, plant health quiz in the United Kingdom, symposium in Australia and Eritrea, podcast in Canada, family market day in South Africa, media story in St. Lucia, and videos produced in Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. See how other countries marked the Day in the Impact Report here: International Day of Plant Health 2024 - Impact Report (fao.org).

10  Communications and Advocacy

10.1.  The IPPC secretariat has developed and has been implementing the 2024 secretariat-wide Communications Plan led by the IST, with inputs from the SSU and IFU. The annual secretariat Communications Plan is an offshoot of the global IPPC Communication Strategy which was adopted at CPM-17 (2023). The 2023 and 2024 IPPC secretariat Communications Plan, which are an operationalization of the strategy, are now a more robust action plan aligned with the target milestones identified in the global IPPC Communications Strategy. The secretariat has achieved some core milestones, including a revamp and development of new content on the International Phytosanitary Portal (IPP). New content was developed and posted on the IPP and on social media to raise awareness and jumpstart conversation on phytosanitary topics and IPPC's work programme, such as blogs on standard setting, implementation and capacity development, the importance of plant health in the safe delivery of food and humanitarian aid, and why plant health matters in the One Health approach.

10.2.  The secretariat also significantly achieved the milestone of engaging audiences on social media. From January to May 2024, X/Twitter following showed significant growth and engagement, with impressions reaching 84.1K, representing a 99% increase while in June to September, a period of stability and continued engagement, with impressions at 53K was noted.  On Facebook, reach increased by an impressive 242%, reaching 40.3K, demonstrating a marked rise in audience engagement. Content that had the most audience engagement was on the International Day of Plant Health, the Africa Phytosanitary Programme, and newly designed social media cards on plant pest awareness. On IPPC's LinkedIn group, active member numbers steadily increased each month. In January, the group had 160 active members, and by May, this number had climbed to 960, marking a cumulative growth of 500%. Post views climbed from 609 in January to 3,447 and by May, a fivefold increase, with significant spikes in April (149%) during CPM-18 and in May (28%) during IDPH. In June, the group had 587 active members, with a small decline in August. However, by September, the group saw a notable surge to 911 active members, reflecting a 54% increase, which also included a 250% rise in new members compared to August. Additionally, we currently have 91 pending requests to join, indicating sustained interest and potential for continued growth. In terms of engagement, post views rose steadily, peaking in September with a 70% increase, totalling 3,921 views.

10.3.  To better manage internal communication within the IPPC secretariat, the secretariat developed a Communications Calendar for internal use to better track and manage all incoming and outgoing communication products and events and to more efficiently manage the workflow of the graphics designers, copyeditor and translators. The Communications Calendar also helps the secretariat coordinate relevant events with the FAO Plant Production and Protection (NSP) Division, and to coordinate clearances of relevant events with FAO Deputy Director-General's office and the FAO Office of Corporate Communications.

10.4.  The IPPC secretariat continued to produce communication and advocacy materials including the following:

·_        IPPC Annual Report 2023

·_        Brochure on the Africa Phytosanitary Programme – available in four languages: EN, FR, AR, PT

·_        International Day of Plant Health (IDPH) 2024 Impact report

·_        Resource mobilization brochures on the IPPC Development Agenda Items:

o_   Establishing global phytosanitary research coordination (fao.org)

o_   Supporting market access through commodity-specific plant health standards (fao.org)

o_   Establishing a diagnostic laboratory network (fao.org)

o_   Guidance on the use of third-party entities (fao.org)

o_   Assessing and managing climate-change impacts on plant health (fao.org)

o_   Making trade safe by harmonizing electronic data exchange (fao.org)

o_   Investing in plant health: better lives for all (fao.org)

·_        IPPC monthly newsletter. Click here to subscribe: https://www.ippc.int/es/news/subscribe-to-the-ippc-newsletter/.

10.5.  The IPPC secretariat coordinated communications and recorded media coverage for some of the activities at the secretariat, including the Train-the-trainer workshop of the Africa Phytosanitary Programme (APP) in Cairo, Egypt in September 2023, official visits of the former IPPC Secretary to APP pilot countries, Fusarium TR4 simulation exercise in Kenya and the international workshop on pest risk mitigation of sea containers and their cargoes, in Australia. Social media cards were developed on common pests and news articles were recorded from at least 20 news outlets for the above activities. In addition, survey protocol guides were developed for publication under the APP, with technical content contributed by USDA-APHIS.

10.6.  The IPPC secretariat continued the groundwork to set up a Community of Practice (COP) in communication structured as Regional Communication Networks (RCNs) in order to have a more focused approach to address communication and information needs of each region, and for a more strategic coordination with the IPPC secretariat. The secretariat proposed to establish the RCNs and a Steering Group which were both approved at CPM-18. Following the recommendation of the CPM Bureau in June 2024, the IPPC secretariat presented the RCN draft principle and Terms of Reference of the Steering Group to the TC-RPPO in its annual meeting in October 2024. These will further be discussed at the October meeting of the IPPC Strategic Planning Group.

11  CPM Focus Group on Climate Change and Phytosanitary Issues

11.1.  On 24-26 September, the Focus Group (FG) and the IPPC secretariat organized a highly successful webinar series, titled "Climate change and phytosanitary measures" which gathered a total of 1,023 webinar participants and 463 webcast viewers. The webinar series focused on three themes: Webinar 1: Climate change, plants and pests (with 432 participants and 308 webcast viewers); Webinar 2: Risk assessment, (317 attendees and 69 webcast viewers; and Webinar 3: Pathways and risk management (283 attendees and 86 webcast viewers). The webinars were held in English, with simultaneous interpretation in French and Spanish and were also webcast live[10]. The IPPC secretariat actively promoted the webinars by creating a dedicated webpage on the IPPC website and through social media (X/Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn).

11.2.  The FG has completed the development of the publication, titled "Climate-change impacts on plant pests: a technical resource to support national and regional plant protection organizations", which was published on 24 September 2024 in interactive digital and PDF formats. The document aims to provide practical and relevant advice to NPPOs and RPPOs on how to strengthen both national and regional phytosanitary systems to better assess and manage the pest risk that is a consequence of climate change. The publication launch was timed during the first day of the webinar series to maximize its reach. It was also published on the IPPC website, on IPPC social media, the IPPC newsletter (September 2024) and disseminated to the IPPC community through mass email and the FAO Plant Production and Protection (NSP) Division.

11.3.  In March 2024, FG members wrote a paper titled "International collaboration to assess and manage the impacts of climate change on plant health in the framework of the International Plant Protection Convention" which was published on the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) Bulletin, Volume 54, Issue S1- Special Issue on Climate Change and Pest Risk Analysis. The paper can be read here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/epp.12987.

11.4.  FG members continued to raise awareness on climate change impacts to plant health in their respective regions. The FG member from North America delivered a presentation on 13 July on plant health and climate change for the US Department of State International Visitor Leader Programme meeting.  The FG member for Latin America and the Caribbean participated virtually at a WTO workshop in Geneva which examined contemporary challenges such as climate change in the agricultural sector which could be classed under the umbrella of the SPS agreement. On 6 August 2024, the member also virtually presented the group's work progress at the IPPC Regional Workshop in Nicaragua on 6 August 2024.

11.5.  The FG held its first in-person meeting in Manaus, Brazil on 7-11 October to take stock of its progress and plan for the next two years of its mandate. The meeting was held in Brazil upon the invitation of the Brazil NPPO during CPM-17 (2023). The FG discussed the feedback from the webinar series, drafted the FG's progress report in 2024, developed a new Action Plan for 2025-2026, and discussed the development of various technical guides. The FG conducted a technical visit to see the Amazon FACE program, an innovative project that simulates increased carbon dioxide levels to test the resilience of animal and plant species in the Amazon Rainforest. The FG wishes to thank Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom for their financial contribution to the IPPC's work on climate change and phytosanitary measures.

11.6.  More information on the FG can be found here: CPM Focus Group on Climate Change and Phytosanitary Issues - International Plant Protection Convention (ippc.int)

12  CPM Focus Group on Sea Containers

12.1.  CPM-16 (2022) made amendments to the draft ToR for the Focus Group based on some amendments proposed by one Contracting Party (CP).

12.2.  CPM-18 (2024) noted the work undertaken by the Focus Group and associated recommendation, subsequently approving the extension of the mandate until 2027 and the new ToR.

12.3.  The purpose of the extended mandate of the Focus Group is to continue the work carried out by the 2022-2023 Focus Group and review all new, emerging and evolving technologies and opportunities. In considering these factors, the Focus Group will provide final recommendations to the CPM on long term IPPC guidance.

12.4.  Following CPM-18, the Focus Group met several times virtually to work on the tasks from new ToRs. One of the tasks is to develop an action plan detailing the steps for completing the tasks identified in this ToR and presented to CPM Bureau for approval in October 2024.

12.5.  At the October 2024 virtual meeting, considering that activities, technology and information relating to sea containers continues to evolve, the Focus Group agreed to utilize the action plan as a living document to be reviewed and updated at each meeting to capture the key outcomes and any further identified aspects for consideration.

13  CPM Focus Group on the Safe Provisions of Food and Other Humanitarian Aid

13.1.  The Focus Group on Safe Provision of Food and Other Humanitarian Aid was established by the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM-16) in April 2022. The IPPC has an adopted global recommendation to tackle pests in food aid to strengthen long-term food security and to combat humanitarian crisis. The provision of food and other humanitarian aid assists regions or countries that are at risk of food and economic insecurity as a result of conflict, crop failures, and natural disasters. The recommendation applies the principle of phytosanitary preparedness and response to the provision of urgent disaster-relief assistance and encourages recipient and exporting countries to develop adequate response plans and use guidance available in adopted standards.

13.2.  Further work is needed - To support the objectives of the IPPC strategic framework 2030 to enhance global food security and protect the environment from the impacts of plant pests and, where appropriate, environmental pests, the IPPC and the CPM established the focus group. The main objectives are to ensure international co-operation to prevent the global spread of plant pests, understand the concerns raised by the and propose solutions for development of the standard and other supplementary tools, and outline the key principles, requirements and other aspects that an global standard on "The Safe Provision of Food and Other Humanitarian Aid" should contain.

13.3.  During CPM-18, the vice-chairperson of the CPM Focus Group on the Safe Provision of Food and Other Humanitarian Aid presented an update on the activities of the focus group. The focus group had revised the draft specification Safe provision of food and other humanitarian aid (2021-2020) and had also drafted a gap-analysis diagram on existing ISPMs and a proposed definition for the "emergency pathway. At the end of the session, the CPM approved the draft specification on Safe provision of food and other humanitarian aid (2021-020) to be submitted for consultation in July 2024 and also agreed to extend the mandate of the focus group until CPM-20 (2026).

13.4.  The Safe Provision of Food and Other Humanitarian Aid had a face-to-face meeting in Bridgetown, Barbados 7-11 October 2024. The meeting was organized by the IPPC secretariat with the support of the Caribbean Plant Health Directors (CPHD) team, the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA), and the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of Barbados. The meeting focused on the revision of the draft specification (2021-020) following the 2024 consultation period, and worked to further progress tasks included in the Focus Group's work ToR (Updated ToR for the extended mandate 2024-2026 of the focus group - International Plant Protection Convention (ippc.int)) as approved by CPM-18.

13.5.  More information about the focus group can be found at: https://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/governance/cpm/cpm-focus-group-reports/cpm-focus-group-on-safe-provision-of-food-and-other-humanitarian-aid/.

14  Upcoming IPPC events

14.1.  For more information on upcoming meetings, please check the website: https://www.ippc.int/en/year/calendar/.

15  IPPC videos and other tools

15.1.  The IPPC secretariat wishes to share with you some tools available.

·_        New video on how trained dogs are preventing the spread of Xylella fastidiosa: The sniffer dogs saving olive trees from a deadly pest (youtube.com)

·_        New video on why keeping plants healthy support safe trade: Plant health and safe trade (youtube.com)

·_        Updated webpage and brochure (EN, FR, AR, PT) on the Africa Phytosanitary Programme

·_        New infographic video Managing the pest risk posed by e-commerce:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDEaNfAZ2sM&list=PLzp5NgJ2-dK4T7GE2fsGujftlxSX1rCTC&t=4s

·_        Video on the IPPC standard setting procedure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8zciLFG--8

·_        Video on Pest risk analysis: Why we do it and why it is important?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXtQ9zVUqI0&t=212s

·_        IPPC Observatory Factsheet: https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc1022en

·_        IPPC Observatory Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tsuqqTpdAQ

·_        IPPC Observatory webpage: https://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/capacity-development/list-topics-ippc-irss/list

15.2.  The IPPC secretariat would like to take this opportunity to express its sincere gratitude to the WTO-SPS Secretariat for its strong support and close cooperation.

__________



[1] IPPC Africa Phytosanitary Programme: https://www.ippc.int/en/about-app/.

[10] Recordings are available online: Webinar 1: Climate change, plants and pests https://www.fao.org/webcast/home/en/item/6701/icode/; Webinar 2: Risk assessment https://www.fao.org/webcast/home/en/item/6702/icode/; Webinar 3: Pathways and risk assessment Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - Webcast (fao.org).