G/SPS/GEN/1693  
 
13 March 2019 
(19-1546) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
REPORT OF INTERNATIO NAL PLANT PROTECTION  
CONVENTION (IPPC)  
The followi ng communication, received on 8 March  2019, is being circulated at the request of the 
International Plant Protection Convention secretariat  (IPPC).  
 
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1  THE COMMISSION ON PHYTOSANITARY MEASUR ES, SUBSIDIARY BODIE S AND GROUPS  
1.1  Preparations for The Commission on Phytosanitary Measures are well underway  
1.1.  The fourteenth meeting of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) will be 1 -5 April 
2019 at FAO HQ in Rome, Italy.  Most  CPM-14 (2019) papers are now posted on the IPP.1 In 2019, 
Plant Health and Capacity Development will be the theme for the IPPC Community.  
1.2  CPM subsidiary bodies  
1.2.  The IPPC CPM subsidiary body, the Standards Committee (SC) met in November 2018, 
recommended t wo draft ISPMs to CPM -14 (2019) for adoption (Requirements for the use of 
fumigation as a phytosanitary measure and the 2017 amendments to ISPM 5 ( Glossary of 
phytosanitary terms )) and reviewed one draft ISPM and one draft Specification. They discussed 
outcomes of the Focus Group on commodity and pathway standards and welcomed the proposals to 
be put forward to CPM -14 (2019). The y reviewed the recommendations of the Task Force on Topics 
and added several subjects to the List of Topics for IPPC standards . 
1.3.  The IPPC CPM subsidiary body "Implementation and Capacity Development Committee (IC) 
met in November 2018 and reviewed the work of the Sea Containers Task Force and the Sub -group 
on Implementation, Review and Support System s and revitalized the work on Dispu te Avoidance 
and Settlement. Several projects were reviewed with partners, a strategy and process for developing 
IPPC guides and training materials was approved as well as the finalization of procedures which are 
published in an Implementation and Capacity  Development Procedure Manual . 
1.3  Task Force on Topics  
1.4.  During a teleconference in January 2019 the Task Force on Topics finalized their 
recommendations on topic submissions from the first joint Call for Topics: Standards and 
Implementation to be presented to CPM-14 (2019) for inclusion in the IPPC work programme. They 
noted the benefit of increased collaboration between standard setting and implementation activities 
within the IPPC secretariat  and governing bodies and recommended that the process of the joint call 
be revised based on lessons learned. They also highlighted the need for building normative capacity 
and suggested that training sessions for submitting topics be included in IPPC regional workshops.  
2  STANDARD SETTING  
2.1.  In 2018 ten standards were adopted2, including four ISPMs, one phytosanitary treatment (PT) 
and five diagnostic protocols (DPs). In July, three consultations were carried out: one on four draft 
                                                
1 CPM-14 (2019) papers: https://www.ippc.int/en/core -activities/governance/cpm/ . 
2 Adopted Standards: https://www.ippc.int/en/core -activities/standards -setting/ispms/ . G/SPS/GEN/1693  
 
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  ISPMs, one on a draft Specification and one on a CPM recommendation, as well as a DP notification  
period. One objection was received to a draft DP on Bactrocera dorsalis  complex (2006 -026), which 
was subsequently revised and resubmitted to the DP notification period in January 2019 as 
Bactrocera dorsalis  (2006 -026). It has now been officially adopted,  increasing the number of IPPC 
diagnostic protocols to 29.  
2.2.  The Expert Working group produced a draft ISPM Guidance on pest risk management  (2014 -
001), which will be further discussed during the SC May 2019 meeting. The Technical Panel on 
Phytosanitary Trea tments (TPPT) has been working on submissions to the ongoing call for PTs and 
is recommending several PTs to be submitted for consultation in 2019. The Technical Panel on the 
Glossary met in December 2018 to review draft ISPMs for consistency and reviewed specific terms.  
2.3.  The approach proposed by the Focus Group on Commodity and Pathway standards will be 
discussed during CPM -14 (2019). In view of the draft Strategic Framework 2020 -2030, it will be 
important that the IPPC community agrees on a way forward tha t addresses both needs and concerns 
about this important issue.  
3  IMPLEMENTATION AND C APACITY DEVELOPMENT  
3.1  Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluations  
3.1.  The IPPC secretariat facilitated the application of the Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation PCE) 
in countries (Nicaragu a, Palestine, Tunisia, Uzbekistan) through different projects to develop national 
capacity development strategies and action plans and review phytosanitary legislation in place in 
accordance with the project goals. The availability of the national capacity  development strategy and 
action plan to address gaps in the phytosanitary system of a country positions countries well for 
taking advantage of funding opportunities at the national and/or international level and helps 
international organizations and donor s to understand countries ' needs and to focus resources on the 
identified priorities.  
3.2.  A PCE strategy is being developed under the oversight of the Implementation and Capacity 
Development Committee (IC) in order to improve the PCE tool and its implementatio n and to further 
promote it.  
3.2  Guides and training material  
3.3.  The IPPC secretariat finalize d the development of two IPPC Guides: (i) IPPC Guide on Pest Free 
Areas and (ii) IPPC Guide to Pest Risk Communication in collaboration with experts from all over the 
world. The Guides are meant to assist countries and NPPOs in the better and more efficient 
implementation of the provisions of the Convention and relevant ISPMs.  
3.4.  The future plans include the development of the IPPC Guides on the Pest status and 
implementatio n of ISPM 15 Regulation of wood packaging material in international trade . 
3.3  Projects  
3.5.  The IC November 2018 meeting represent ed an opportunity for donors and project managers 
to report on their phytosanitary project s and seek synergies to best implement activities and find 
synergies to promote their outputs. The IPPC secretariat is currently in the process of setting a 
procedure to best develop, coordinate and share experiences on phytosanitary projects.  
3.6.  Five main  Implementation and Capacity Development (ICD) projects are managed by the 
secretariat under the oversight of the IC.  
3.4  Implementation and Capacity Development web based resources  
3.7.  The secretariat is currently working on reorganization of the IPP  (www.ippc.int) to help ensure 
easy access to the implementation and capacity development resources. The new landing page for 
those web based resources will have several categories of phytosanitary activities and each category 
will bring all together relev ant ISPMs, CPM recommendations, Guide s, training materials and other 
materials. This new structure will help users reach those materials comprehensively.  G/SPS/GEN/1693  
 
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  4  PROMOTING TRADE FACI LITATION  
4.1  ePhyto  
4.1.  The IPPC secretariat's ePhyto Hub is fully operational. Thirty -one countries are currently 
registered to the Hub, and a number of others will be joining this year, including EC member States. 
The Generic ePhyto National System (GeNS) has been deployed to the three pilot countries of Sri 
Lanka, Samoa and Ghana, and initia l results of the pilot indicate that the system is working as 
intended; Sri Lanka has already transmitted ePhytos to the US, Ghana recently hosted an expert 
team to facilitate operations and Samoa should be exchanging ePhytos soon as well. The IPPC 
intends  to establish a five year strategic plan for ePhyto in April, hopes to conduct a regional 
workshop on ePhyto for Africa and the Near East this year, and plans for an ePhyto Global 
Symposium for 2020.  
4.2  e-Commerce  
4.2.  The IPPC secretariat has proposed a project o n e-Commerce to CPM -14 (2019) in the 
framework of the Trade Facilitation Agreement that involves collaboration with the World Custom s 
Organization (WCO).3 The project is planed for five years for a total budget of USD 530,000. 
Governance and activities rel ated to e -commerce will be funded and operate using extra -budgetary 
resources provided for this purpose  
4.3  Sea Containers Task Force  (SCTF)  
4.3.  The SCTF held its second meeting from 5 to 9 November 2018 in Shenzhen, China. Key 
messages and highlights from the mee ting include:  
− Underlining the importance of the packing stage for avoiding pest contamination. Future 
actions should account for all possible 'touch points ' for inspections to guarantee the 
cleanliness of sea containers;  
− Need for raising awareness of sea c ontainers and related best practices. A communication 
strategy, as well as materials targeted to specific audiences, will thus be developed;  
− The Sea Containers Cleanliness Guidelines and Survey w ere approved and will be issue d 
shortly to CPs.  
4.4.  Setting succe ss indicators for measuring the implementation of the IPPC Complementary Action 
Plan for Assessing and Managing Pest Threats Associated with Sea Containers.  
5  STRENGTHENING COMMUN ICATION AND ADVOCACY  
5.1  Scaling up IPPC communications  
5.1.  Over the past months, the I PPC secretariat worked closely with FAO 's Office for Corporate 
Communication to increase the quality and outreach of its communications. These efforts resulted 
in an increased media outreach and increased users ' interactions on social media.  
5.2.  The IPPC secretariat concluded events related to the 2018 IPPC annual theme on "Plant Health 
and Environmental Protection " by organizing a thematic seminar during its Strategic Planning Group 
meeting in October 2018, and a meeting of Public Information Officers of biodi versity -related 
conventions, which served to gather ideas on a global communications campaign.  
5.3.  The IPPC secretariat collaborated in 2017 with the United Nations Environment Programme 
(UNEP), within the UN Environment Multilateral Environment Agreements Kno wledge Management 
Initiative, on the creation of an e -learning course "Introduction to the International Plant Protection 
Convention ". The course is available on the InforMEA e -learning platform.4 
                                                
3 CPM 2019/16 IPPC e -Commerce p roposed project work plan and budget : 
https://www.ippc.int/static/media/files/publication/en/2019/02/16_CPM_2019_eCommerce_ project_proposal -
2019-02-01.pdf . 
4 eLearning course Introduction to the International Plant Protection Convention: https://e -
learning.informea.org/course/view.php?id=43 . G/SPS/GEN/1693  
 
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  5.4.  This newly created two -hour course is free of charge. The c ourse is comprised of four lessons; 
each lesson includes an interactive module, additional materials and a pdf hand -out. The core 
content of these lessons is complemented with videos, publications and other web resources. This 
course was created for learne rs without any prior knowledge of the IPPC, such as new employees of 
NPPOs, governmental officials, scientists, journalists, etc. and can be useful in preparations to the 
International Year of Plant Health 2020. Upon successful completion of the course, pa rticipants 
receive a certificate of completion.  
5.5.  The IPPC secretariat has also been working on an e -learning course on National Reporting 
Obligations for IPPC contact points and their editors that should be made available this year.  
5.2  The International Year o f Plant Health (IYPH)  
5.6.  Communications and advocacy activities also helped pave the path towards the proclamation 
of the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) 2020 by the United Nations General Assembly in 
December 2018. These included several events , a well -attended reception at the Finnish Mission at 
the United Nations in New York, and a side event at the 14th Conference of Parties to the Convention 
of Biological Diversity (CBD).  
5.7.  The IYPH will raise awareness of the role plant health plays in achievi ng the sustainable 
development goals. It will also raise awareness of, and strengthen, the role of the IPPC secretariat 
and National and Regional Plant Protection Organizations in protecting plant health.  
5.8.  The third meeting of the IPPC International Year of  Plant Health Steering Committee (IPPC 
IYPH StC) was held in November 2017, at FAO Headquarters, Rome Italy. The steering committee 
progressed substantively on the IYPH communications work plan and the IYPH programme 
development.  Governments were encourag ed to support the proposal by Finland to declare 2020 
as the International Year of Plant Health when it is presented at the 2018 meeting of the UN General 
Assembly.  
6  THE YEAR AHEAD  
6.1.  The year 2019 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 Capacity Development " towards 
2020. Among the many tasks and activities planned for 2019, the following are some of the key 
activities:  
− Advocate  the IPPC annual theme "Plant Health and Capacity Development "; 
− Promote  IPPC strategic planning for 2020 -2030 which will be presented to CPM -14 (2019) 
for conditional approval ; 
− Set a strategy for the PCE ; 
− Consider  how to move forward on Commodity and Pathway Standards . 
6.2.  The IPPC secretariat would like to take this opportunity to express its sincere gratitude to the 
WTO-SPS Secretariat for the strong support and close cooperation.  
Prepared by the IPPC secretariat, covering activities from November 2018 to February 2019.  
 
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