G/SPS/GEN/1579  
 
13 October  2017 
(17-5537) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
 
REPORT OF THE  INTERNATIONAL PLANT PROTECTION  
CONVENTION SECRETARI AT (IPPC)  
The followi ng communication, received on 13 October  2017, is being circulated at the request of 
the International Plant Protection Convention secretariat  (IPPC).  
 
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This report provides an overview of IPPC activities since the last SPS meeting in July 2017:  
1.  Seven IPPC regional workshops (RWs) were organized for Africa, Asia, Latin America, Near East 
and North Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, South west Pacific, and the 
Caribbean. A total number of 206 participants from 117 countries benefited from the workshops. 
The RWs had three main objectives:  
 Improve contracting parties ' capacities to analyze draft ISPM for efficien t commenting;  
 Build phytosanit ary capacities and raising a wareness on the IPPC activities;  
 Exchange of ex periences at the regional level;  
 The feedback from participants indicated that the RWs are considered an essential venue 
for information sharing on emerging issues, networking and t he exchange of experiences.  
2.  Under the Framework of FAO -China South -South Cooperation Programme the IPPC has 
received funds to implement a project on Capacity Developme nt for contracting parties. 
The project was officially launched during the regional works hop held in Central and Eastern 
Europe and Central Asia on 5 -8 September 2017.  
3.  The project aims to facilitate the exchange of resources, technologies, innovations and 
knowledge between developing countries to help build sustainable food systems and enhance  their 
capacities to improve their own livelihoods. The expected outcome of the project is to increase the 
capacity of developing countries at the institutional, national and regional levels.  
4.  The IPPC continues working on the development of the ePhyto syst em. The last meeting of the 
ePhyto Steering Group (ESG) took place in October 2017. The meeting was devoted to a 
discussion on the ePhyto Hub, (which is now running as a pilot), finalizing details of the hub user 
interface and connection procedures. The ES G also reviewed and adjusted details of the 
anticipated costs of the hub operation that is required to develop a business plan for the 
sustainability of the operation. The ESG finalized the specifications for the generic ePhyto national 
system (GeNS), revi ewed and adjusted development timelines and began preparations for the 
3rd IPPC Global Symposium on ePhyto with the theme "ePhyto & Trade Facilitation ", which will take 
place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 22 to 26 January 2018. Details of the Symposium ar e posted 
at: http://www.ippc.int/en/ephyto/ephyto -symposia/3rd -global -symposium -on-ephyto -kuala -
lampur -malaysia -22-26-january-2018. 
5.  The IPPC secretariat has commenced development of a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) 
framework. The framework will assis t the Secretariat to monitor it s work programme taking into 
account its impact at the strategic global level (including linkage s to the FAO and UN SDGs), at the 
national level of contracting party implementation and ac tivities undertaken by the 
IPPC secretariat. It is expected that the M&E framework will allow for enhanced responsiveness 
and continuous improvement towards the IPPC  mission of protecting global plant resources from 
pests, as well as responding to changi ng regional and national needs.  G/SPS/GEN/1579  
 
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  6.  Preparation for the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) is under the way. The final 
decision on the IYPH is expected to be obtain ed at the 2018 United Nations (UN) General 
Assembly. The IYPH Steering Committee will meet 8 -10 November 2017.  
7.  The IPPC Strategic Planning Group (SPG) met in October 2017 and discussed, inter alia : 
 Progress on a sustainable funding propo sal for the IPPC wo rk programme;  
 The IPPC Strategic Framework for 2020 -2030; 
 A Trade Fac ilitation Agreement Action Plan;  
 Strategies for the global plant protection community related to e -commerce ; 
 The advances in E -Phyto ; 
 An International Phytosanitary Conference - Proposal to establish an IPPC format for a 
regular phytosanitary conference: The "International Phytosanitary Conference" – Kenya.  
 
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