G/SPS/GEN/1533  
 
7 March 2017  
(17-1341) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary an d Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
REPORT OF THE  INTERNATIONAL PLANT PROTECTION  
CONVENTION SECRETARI AT (IPPC)  
The followi ng communication, received on 1 March  2017, is being circulated at the request of the 
International Plant Protection Convention secretariat  (IPPC).  
 
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1.  The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is an international plant health 
agreement, originally established in 1952 and revised in 1997, that aims to protect cultivated and 
wild plants by preventing the introduction and spread of pests. The strate gic objective of the IPPC 
is to protect food security and the environment while facilitating trade through strengthening 
capacity and capability of its contracting parties. The IPPC is recognized as the only international 
standard setting body for plan t health by the World Trade Organization Agreement on the 
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (WTO SPS Agreement).  
2.  The IPPC is governed by the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM). The IPPC 
secretariat , hosted by the Food and Agriculture O rganization (FAO) of the United Nations as an 
Article XIV body, works together with 183 national plant protection organizations (NPPOs) and nine  
regional plant protection organizations (RPPOs) to: a) develop  strategic and action plan s on world's 
phytosanit ary issues; b) set up international standards, facilitate standard implementation; c) deal 
with phytosanitary disputes; d) share phytosanitary information; and e) cooperate with other 
international organizations on relevant plant health -related matters.  
3.  The year 2016 has been a milestone for the IPPC, as it was the first year for the Convention to 
implement the IPPC annual themes towards 2020. This year has been extraordinary for the IPPC 
community, as we collectively made remarkable achievements, with ten major ones highlighted in 
this report:  
 the IPPC 2016 annual theme;  
 IPPC governance and strategic activities;  
 coordination of standards;  
 implementation of standards;  
 enhancing communications and advocacy;  
 developing the International Year of Plant Health;  
 strengthening the IPPC network;  
 enhancing international cooperation;  
 improving resource mobilization; and  
 strengthening the internal management of the IPPC secretariat . 
4.  The first achievement was to disseminate the IPPC 2016 annual theme  - Plant Health and F ood 
Security . The IPPC secretariat organized a keynote address at CPM 11 on the IPPC annual theme 
for the first time in its history, which was delivered by Professor Rudy Rabbinge from Wageningen 
University of the Netherlands. We also organized a series of  activities to showcase this IPPC annual 
theme, including two IPPC seminars, one Committee on Food Security (CFS) side -event, and one 
video message from the IPPC Secretary to th e 2016 IPPC Regional Workshops.  
5.  The second achievement was to organize IPPC gov ernance and strategic activities . The IPPC 
secretariat provided strong support in the organization of all meetings of the IPPC governing 
bodies. We also made a close follow -up with implementation  of all important CPM decisions, such 
as setting -up a Focus G roup on the establishment of an oversight body for implementation, G/SPS/GEN/1533  
 
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  working on a sustainable funding mechanism for IPPC secretariat work programmes, and 
initializing IPPC strategic planning for 2020 -2030.  
6.  The third achievement was to coordinate a record num bers of standards . Over 40 standards 
were progress ed, with 12 standards adopted (two  regular standards, two phytosanitary 
treatments, and eight diagnostic protocols ) and 28 standards presented for adoption ( five regular 
standards , 11 phytosanitary treatmen ts, and 12  diagnostic protocols ). This was the highest  
number of standards covered for a single year in the IPPC's history.  
7.  The fourth achievement was to promote the implementation of standards . Five Training 
Workshops on PCE were organized with the partic ipation of 4 0 phytosanitary experts from 
36 countries, and 21 lawyers from 13 countries plus FAO staff. Sixteen projects were implemented 
with six completed and an additional ten were active, covering over 15 contracting parties (CPs) . 
One focus group was established on a surveillance pilot project, deal ing with three potential pests.  
8.  The fifth achievement was to enhance communication and advocacy . The new IPP home page 
and new online comment system  (OCS) were released. Over 170 items of headline and brief news 
were issued, an increase of 70% in comparison with 2015. The 2015 IPPC Annual Report was 
published, with distribution of 1,000 copies.  
9.  The sixth achievement was to promote the development of the International Year of Plant 
Health (IYPH) 2020 . The Stee ring Committee for IYPH 2020 was established, and its first meeting 
was organized in FAO -HQ in Rome, Italy. One side -event on IYPH 2020 was held during the 
25th session of Committee on Agriculture ( COAG ) of FAO . The resolution for IYPH 2020 was 
endorsed at  the 25th session of COAG of FAO, and then endorsed at the 150th FAO Council.  
10.  The seventh achievement was to strengthen the IPPC network . An IPPC Workshop on National 
Reporting Obligations (NROs) in Asia was organized for the first time in the several year s. Seven 
IPPC Regional Workshops were held, with 212 participants from 144 CPs. The annual Technical 
consultation  (TC) among Regional Plant Protection Organizations  (RPPOs)  was conducted in Rabat, 
Morocco, with the participation of all nine RPPOs and one r egion (Caribbean) for the first time in 
many years.  
11.  The eighth achievement was promoting international cooperation . In particular, cooperation 
with the International Atomic Energy Administration (IAEA) was deepened on standard setting. 
Cooperation with the  World Customs Organization (WCO) was initiated on ePhyto. Cooperation 
with UNEP was also started on biodiversity -related issues.  
12.  The ninth achievement was to strengthen resource mobilization . The initiative of sustainable 
funding for the IPPC work program me was proposed, and strongly supported by the CPM Finance 
Committee, CPM Bureau, and Strategic Planning Group  (SPG). The IPPC multi-donor trust fund 
was supported by Australia , France, Republic of Korea, New Zealand and the United States of 
America . New I PPC projects were received from European Commission (EC)  and STDF, and 
pledged from China.  
13.  The tenth achievement was strengthening internal management of the IPPC secretariat . 
The action plan for the Enhancement Evaluation of the IPPC secretariat was imple mented, mainly  
for reshaping the IPPC secretariat's structure with establishment two professional units (Standard 
Setting and Implementation Facilitation) and one supporting team (Integration Support). Quality 
management as well as standardization of docum ents and information materials were 
strengthened by setting up several relevant Standa rd Operating Procedures (SOPs).  
14.  2017 will be another important year for the IPPC, as it will be the year for implementation  of 
the next IPPC annual theme - "Plant Health and Trade Facilitation ", as well as a year for 
celebrating the 65th Anniversary of the IPPC. Among many the tasks and activities for 2017, five 
are key:  
 advocate  the IPPC annual theme "Plant health and trade facilitation " for 2017, and 
promote IYPH 2020 t o be endorsed in FAO conference;  
 organize  the CPM 12 in the Republic of Korea, and establish a new oversight body for 
implementation;  G/SPS/GEN/1533  
 
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   complete  the projects STDF -401 and EC -IRSS, and implement the new projects on IPPC 
Implementation from European Commission , ePhyto from STDF, and Capacity 
Development from the FAO -China SSC Programme;  
 strengthen  the IPPC network at regional and national levels, and enhance international 
cooperation with relevant technical, trade, environment and industry organizations; and  
 continue  efforts to mobilize additional resources and restructure the IPPC secretariat , and 
celebrate the 65th Anniversary of the IPPC.  
15.  The IPPC secretariat would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to 
WTO-SPS Secretariat for the strong support and close cooperation.  
 
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