G/SPS/GEN/2073  
 
21 October  2022 
(22-7915) Page: 1/6 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
  
REPORT OF INTERNATIONAL PLANT PROTECTION CONVENTION (IPPC)   
TO THE SPS COMMITTEE MEETING ON 9-11 NOVEMBER  2022  
FOR THE P ERIOD : 1 JUNE  – 21 OCTOBER  2022  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE IPPC SECRETARIAT  
The followi ng communication, received on 20 October 2022, is being circulated at the request of the 
International Plant Protection Convention secretariat  (IPPC).  
 
_______________  
 
 
The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is an intergovernmental treaty  signed by 
184 countries (as of October 2022), aiming to protecting the world's plant resources from the spread 
and introduction of pests, and facilitate safe trade. The Conve ntion introduced the development and 
implementation of International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs)  as its main tool to 
achieve its goals, making it the sole glo bal 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) BUREAU1 
1.1.  Since June 2022, the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) Bureau convened three 
monthly meetings, two virtual in June and September respectively and one in person in October, 
slowly coming back to face to face meeting. One in -person Strategic Planning Group (SPG) meeting 
will be held on 24 -26 October 2022. A further six IPPC Global Organizing Committee mee tings for 
the 2022 Regional Workshops were organized and two other meetings for the technical consultation 
among regional plant protection organizations (TC -RPPOs), two meetings with the African Union 
Inter-Africa Phytosanitary Council and Economic Communi ty of West African States on a future Africa 
Phytosanitary Program, over eight CPM Focus Group meetings of the Strategic Framework 
2020-2030 Development Agenda Items, Communication, Climate Change and Phytosanitary Issues, 
Food and Other Humanitarian Aid, as well as seven coordination meetings of the International Plant 
Health Conference (IPHC) organizing committee, all in virtual mode.  
1.2.  The CPM Bureau, the IPPC secretariat and the IPPC Strategic Planning Group will be celebrating 
the 70th anniversary of the IPPC on the 25 October 2022 at FAO Headquarter.  
2  IPPC OBSERVATORY2 
2.1.  The process of transition from the Implementation Review and Support System (IRSS) to more 
a sustainable system, called the IPPC Observatory, was completed by the CPM -16 (2022) adoption.3 
The IPPC Observatory adopted by CPM -16 is a system that monitors the implementation of the IPPC, 
 
1 CPM Bureau: https://www.ippc.int/en/core -activities/governance/bureau/ . 
2 See news item on the IPP: https://www.ippc.int/en/news/cpm -approves -transition -of-implementation -
review -and-support -system -to-the-ippc-observatory/ . 
3 CPM-16 report: https://assets.ippc.int/static/media/files/publication/en/2022/07/CPM -
16_FINAL_REPORT -2022-07-20__Syh4mHt.pdf . G/SPS/GEN/2073  
 
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  ISPMs and CPM Recommendations, identifies challenges and best practices and provides 
recommendations to the IPPC governing and subsidiary bo dies for follow -up actions. This evaluation 
system gathers the best practices and challenges faced by IPPC contracting parties through surveys 
and studies and provides an overview at global level on the implementation of the IPPC and the 
ISPMs.  
2.2.  To support the promotion on the Observatory, the IPPC Observatory factsheet4, the IPPC 
Observatory video5 and the visual identity have been released as well as the IPPC Observatory 
webpage on the IPP has been redesigned. The IPPC Observatory list of topics studies has been 
converted into a searchable online database available on the IPP.6 
2.3.  In order to improve collaboration and experience sharing, the IPPC secretariat is also fully 
involved in the work of a working group with CODEX and WOAH (World Organization for An imal 
Health). This working group meets every quarter to discuss the activities of their respective 
Observatories for monitoring the implementation of standards, share best practices and solutions to 
improve the efficiency of surveys and the response rate o f contracting parties.  
2.4.  The IRSS triennial report of the European Commission (EC) third cycle project presenting a 
detailed review of the activities implemented under this project will be posted on the International 
Phytosanitary Portal (IPP).  
2.5.  The updated 2 022 -2024 IPPC Observatory work plan will be presented to the Implementation 
and Capacity Development Committee (IC) in November 2022 for review and approval.  
3  STANDARDS COMMITTEE7 
3.1.  Since the last update of from the IPPC secretariat to the SPS Committee, th e IPPC Standards 
Committee (SC) met in July 2022 where the focus was to review and discuss the work of the IPPC 
technical panels. More information at the SC July 2022 meeting report here. 
3.2.  The next  IPPC SC meeting will be from 14 to 18 November 2022 at FAO Headquarter, in Rome, 
Italy. This will be the first time that IC members will meet in -person since the start of the COVID -19 
pandemic. Besides the draft Specifications and draft International Stan dards for Phytosanitary 
Measures (ISPMs) from consultation period, the SC will also discuss other strategic issues from 
its work programme. The draft Specifications, that are intended for approval, so then the SC can 
start the development of the internatio nal standards, and the draft ISPMs which will be revised with 
the intention to be submitted to the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) seventeenth 
session in 2023 for adoption are listed below.  
Draft specifications : 
• Annex International movement of m ango ( Mangifera indica ) fruit to ISPM 46 ( Commodity -
specific standards for phytosanitary measures ) (2021 -011) 
• Field inspection (including growing season inspection) (Annex to ISPM 23 ( Guidelines for 
inspection )) (2021 -018) 
• Revision of ISPM 26 ( Establishmen t of pest free areas for fruit flies  (Tephritidae)) (2021 -010) 
Draft ISPMs : 
• Revision of ISPM 4 ( Requirements for the establishment of pest free areas ) (2009 -002) 
• Use of specific import authorizations (Annex to ISPM 20: Guidelines for a phytosanitary 
import  regulatory system ) (2008 -006) 
• Revision of ISPM 18 ( Guidelines for the use of irradiation as a phytosanitary measure ) 
(2014 -007) 
• 2021 Amendments to ISPM 5  
 
4 IPPC Observatory factsheet: https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc1022en . 
5 IPPC Observatory Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tsuqqTpdAQ . 
6 IPPC Obser vatory webpage: https://www.ippc.int/en/core -activities/capacity -development/list -topics -
ippc-irss/list . 
7 Standards Committee: https://www.ippc.int/en/core -activities/standards -setting/standards -
committee/ . G/SPS/GEN/2073  
 
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  4  IMPLEMENTATION AND CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE (IC)8 
4.1.  The activities of the Implementation and Capacity Development Committee (IC), which have 
been conducted virtually since April 2019, are gradually returning to normal. The May 2022 
IC meeting was held virtually and the November 2022 IC meeting will be held face -to-face over a 
period of five days (from 21 to 25 November) in Rome. This will be the first time that IC members 
will meet in -person since the start of the COVID -19 pandemic.  
4.2.  In recent weeks the activities of the IC were mainly focused on reviewing the comments 
received on  the four following draft specifications for guides and training materials after the 2022 
consultation:  
• Authorization of entities to perform phytosanitary actions, Guide (2018 -040) 
• National Reporting Obligations (NROs) Guide, revision (2021 -026) 
• Implementa tion of risk -based inspection for imported consignments, Guide (2018 -022) 
• Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation (PCE) facilitator training materials (2014 -008) 
4.3.  The approval process of these specifications for guide and training materials is still ongoing 
and w ill be completed before the IC November meeting.  
4.4.  According to the Implementation and Capacity Development committee (IC) Terms of reference 
and rules of procedure (IC TOR and ROP)9, the IPPC launched the 2022 Call for IC members. The 
call was opened on 10  October 2022 to solicit from National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs) 
and Regional Plant Protection Organizations (RPPOs) the nominations for regional representatives 
and experts to be members (and replacement members) of the IC from May 2023 to Ma y 2026.The 
deadline to submit nominations to the IPPC secretariat is on 30 November 2022.  
5  EPHYTO  
5.1.  Once again, it is a pleasure to report the continued progress being made with the IPPC ePhyto 
Solution. The ePhyto Solution continues to provide user countries  with the opportunity to exchange 
digital phytosanitary certificates with any country using the system. As of mid -October 2022, there 
were 112 countries registered (Mauritius being the latest to register), with 70 countries in full 
production. In addition,  the ePhyto Solution is nearing a total of three million certificates exchanged. 
Additional features have been added to the Generic ePhyto National System (GeNS – the web -based 
application for countries without their own national systems) including eSignat ure and a French 
language version. An Arabic language version of the GeNS (developed with the support of the Global 
Alliance for Trade Facilitation) as well as an ePayment feature are being piloted; and the Arabic 
version will be live in mid -November.  
5.2.  With more and more countries coming on board there are always requests to add additional 
features. As a reminder, when considering these requests, the IPPC secretariat always strives to 
ensure that any new features added to the system will have applicability a cross the system for any 
country wishing to make use of the feature. In an additional development, the FAO Economics 
section, with funding from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, has been 
working on a review of available statistics with regard to ePhyto and have discovered that the share 
of plant exports from ePhyto participants in the global value of exports of plant products has seen 
an increase of approximately 9 percent points between 2018 and 2021 (from 0.73 percent in 2018 
to 9.59 p ercent in 2021). However, as of the end of 2021, this still only represents 10.6 percent of 
the value of plant exports requiring phytosanitary certifications was covered by the ePhyto solution 
(79 billion USD out of 825 billion USD), meaning there is a pot ential scope for significantly expanding 
country participation in the use of ePhyto.  
5.3.  As a reminder for our colleagues the system was built to handle up to one hundred thousand 
certificates per day, but at present it is averaging about one hundred thousand certificates per 
month. The IPPC again invites our SPS sisters and any other international organization wishing to 
 
8 https://www.ippc.int/en/core -activities/capacity -development/capacity -development -committee/ . 
9 https://assets.ippc.int/static/media/files/pu blication/en/2022/04/IC_2022_IC_ToR_and_RoP.pdf . G/SPS/GEN/2073  
 
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  exchange digital certificates to contact the Secretariat to discuss ways to facilitate those exchanges 
through the system.  
5.4.  More information c an be found on the ePhyto webpage  on the IPP.10 
6  EPHYTO INDUSTRY ADVISORY GROUP  
6.1.  The ePhyto Industry Advisory Group met on 19 September 2022 in London, UK. It had the 
participation of 12 participants re presenting the seed, potato, cotton, grains and fresh fruit and 
vegetable industries. Ms Shawna Enz -Cross was elected as a new co -chair to replace Ms Alejandra 
Danielson Castillo.  
6.2.  Other objectives were to provide updates from the individual industry groups , receive an 
update on the ePhyto sustainable funding effort and discuss the series of IPPC/IAG workshops held 
in countries around the world during the past year and to discuss options to change the format and 
target additional countries and moving forward . 
7  INTERNATIONAL PLANT HEALTH CONFERENCE (IPHC)  
7.1.  From 21 to 23 September 2022 in London, UK, the first ever Plant Health Conference convened 
countries from around the world to discuss global scientific, technical and regulatory issues related 
to plant health  aiming to contribute to a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, amongst 
other objectives. FAO, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)  Secretariat and the 
Department for Food and Rural Affairs of the United Kingdom  have collaborated to gather the world’s 
best plant health experts and advocates to explore more efficient policies.  
7.2.  More than 500 policymakers, academics and experts from over 74 countries met to address 
current and future plant health challenges, including the impacts of climate change, food security, 
environmental protection, facilitating safe trade, and new pest and disease pa thways, such as e -
commerce. The plenary sessions were webcast and followed by 1,350 viewers. It was an opportunity 
to share knowledge and discuss global scientific, technical and regulatory issues, alongside actions 
to tackle these existential threats to o ur society, economy and environment.  
7.3.  Collaboration with the SPS Secretariat on the session on "Facilitating Safe Trade and Economic 
Development ", where Mr Rolando Alcalá  from the SPS Secretariat, moderated the session was an 
example of the continued commitment of the IPPC towards facilitating safe trade and protecting the 
world’s plant resources from pests. The Conference also had the participation of the SPS Committee 
Chairperson Mr Tang -Kai Wang as one of the attendees.  
7.4.  FAO and the IPPC estimate that every year up to 40 percent of food crops are lost to plant 
pests and diseases amounting to USD 220 billion in trade loss. This loss leaves millions of people 
without enough  food to eat and severely damages agriculture - the primary source of income for 
rural poor communities.  
7.5.  Protecting plant health is critical in achieving the SDGs . Healthy pla nts contribute to achieving 
food security for all ( SDG 2 ) and promote responsible food consumption and production ( SDG 12 ). 
Protecting plants helps protect biodiversity and the environment from the impact of plant pests 
(SDG 13 and 15), and facilitates safe trade, in turn providing decent work and boosting economic 
growth ( SDG 8 ). 
7.6.  More information at: https://www.agiitoevents.com/event/a6e37cb4 -c5a0-4a97-bafe 
82a7d6ee4bd5/summary . 
8  CPM FOCUS GROUP ON SEA CONTAINERS AND INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON 
REDUCING THE INTRODUCTION OF PESTS THROUGH THE SEA CONTAINER PATHWAY  
8.1.  At its June 2022 virtual meeting, the CPM Bureau formed the CPM Focus Group (FG) on Sea 
Containers (FGSC) following the decisions of CPM. The first meeting was held on 25 August 2022 to 
elect the Chairperson and to identify and prioritize its activities. During the meeting it was agreed 
 
10 ePhyto webpage: https://www.ephytoexchange.org/landing/ . G/SPS/GEN/2073  
 
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  that members of FGSC will start collecting relevant information to be considered during the revision 
of CPM Recommendation number 6 on Sea Containers, that it is th e IPPC work programme.  
8.2.  The first workshop related to the work of the newly established focus group on Sea Containers 
took place on 19 -20 September 2022 in London, United Kingdom. Over 130 participants representing 
NPPOs, RPPOs international organizations a nd industry stakeholders such as container owners, 
shipping lines, container manufacturers, freight forwarders, packers, port authorities, marine 
terminal operators, shippers, importers, exporters attended the workshop.  
8.3.  Following up from the workshop the s econd meeting of CPM FG on Sea containers was held on 
4-5 October 2022. The FGSC discussed the information exchanged during the workshop 
presentations and discussions as well as the conclusions of the workshop. The workshop outcomes 
will help to identify p otential regulatory and non -regulatory options necessary for efficient and 
effective management of the phytosanitary risks associated with the movement of sea containers.  
8.4.  The focus group will convene again on 27 -28 October 2022 in Rome, Italy to revise CPM  
recommendation number 6 on Sea containers.  
8.5.  More information at: https://www.ippc.int/en/core -activities/capacity -development/sea -
containers/ . 
9  IPPC COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVOCACY  
9.1.  The IPPC secretariat continue to produce communication and advocacy materials 
(IPPC  Brochure, released 4 issues of IPPC newsletter, 25 headline news and 32 announcements) in 
2022 as well as social media content that reached a wi der audience with a steady increase in 
percentages and double the engagement rate compared to the same period in 2021. Content posted 
by IPPC on social media was substantially amplified by FAO accounts and other international/ EU 
institutions (UNDCC, EU DG  for Environment, UN Biodiversity, etc.) via the Biodiversity 
Communications Flotilla group on Twitter. It has developed and coordinated the implementation of 
the 2022 IPPC communications plan that includes the publications plan.  
9.2.  The IPPC secretariat is supporting development of a new IPPC communication strategy that is 
under analysis and development by the CPM Focus Group on Communications, which will be 
presented at the CPM -17 for adoption.  
10  IPPC CALL FOR EXPERTS AND OTHER MATERIAL  
10.1.   Call for experts – To pr oofread translations of IPPC guides and training materials : 
The IPPC secretariat is soliciting nominations for phytosanitary experts to contribute to proofreading 
translations of IPPC guides and training materials translated to either Arabic, Chinese, Fren ch, 
Russian or Spanish, on an on -going, ad -hoc basis. https://www.ippc.int/en/calls/call -for-experts -to-
proofread -translations -of-ippc-guides -and-training -materials/ . 
10.2.   Call for Implementation and Capacity Development Committee (IC) members : 
The IPPC secretariat is soliciting nominations for regional representatives and experts to be members 
(and replacement members) of the IC. https://www.ippc.int/en/calls/call -for-implementation -and-
capacity -development -committee -ic-members -1/. 
10.3.   For more information on upcoming calls  for various IPPC groups, please check the website: 
https://www.ippc.int/en/calls/category/deadline/ . 
11  UPCOMING IPPC EVENTS  
11.1.   For more information on upcoming meetings, please check the website:  
https://www.ippc.int/en/year/calendar/ . 
• 24-26 October 2022 : IPPC Strategic Planning Group meeting, FAO HQ. More information 
here. 
• 7-11 November 2022 : Expert working group for the Reorganization of Pest Risk Analysis 
standards, Milan, Italy. More information here. G/SPS/GEN/2073  
 
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  • 14-18 November 2022 : IPPC Stand ards Committee (SC) meeting. More information here. 
• 21-25 November 2022 : IPPC Implementation and Capacity Development Committee (IC) 
November meeting. More infor mation here. 
12  IPPC VIDEOS AND OTHER TOOLS  
12.1.   The IPPC secretariat wishes to share with you some tools available.  
• 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  
• e-learning course on Surveillance and reporting obligations: 
http://elearning.fao.org/course/view.php?id=824  
• e-learning course on Pest Risk Analysis (developed in collaboration with COLEACP): 
http://training.coleacp.org/course/index.php?categoryid=208  
• IPPC Observatory Factsheet: https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc1022en  
• IPPC Observatory Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tsuqqTpdAQ  
• IPPC Observatory  webpag e: https://www.ippc.int/en/core -activities/capacity -
development/list -topics -ippc-irss/list  
12.2.   The IPPC secretariat would like to take this opportunity to e xpress its sincere gratitude to the 
WTO-SPS Secretariat for the strong support and close cooperation.  
 
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