G/SPS/GEN/1504  
 
29 June 2016  
(16-3525)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
REPORT OF THE INTERNAT IONAL PLANT PROTECTION 
CONVENTION SECRETARIAT (IPPC) 
The following communication, received on 29 June 2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
International Plant Protection Convention secretariat (IPPC). 
 
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 1.  This report covers the period April – June 2016. 
2.  The Eleventh Session of Commission on Phytos anitary Measures (CPM-11) took take place on 
4-8 April 2016. 
3.  The Committee is invited to note that the number of contracting parties to the IPPC remains at 
182. 
4.  Nine Standards were adopted and noted by consensus at CPM-11, including: two International 
Standards on Phytosanitary Measures, two Phytosanitary Treatments, and five Diagnostic Protocols. This is one of the Commission's biggest achievements in standard setting, as the IPPC is 
the only international standard setting organization for plant protection. 
5.  During CPM-11, the IPPC contracting parties al so added three new topics to the list of topics for 
IPPC standards and noted the review of 30 standards by Language Review Groups and 
198 standards to incorporate ink amendments. CPM-11 also adopted a new Standard Setting 
Procedure to help ensure inclusiveness and transpar ency in setting standards, as well as the IPPC 
 Framework for Standards and Implementation, whic h will support the cooperative work on setting 
and implementing standards. The CPM-11 discusse d the concept of a commodity standard and 
agreed to Terms of Reference for a work ing group to further discuss the concept. 
6.  The IPPC secretariat also organized a very successful special topics session on sea containers, 
with eight speakers presenting different views, which was webcast to the world. Contracting 
parties applauded the efforts of the presenters to  provide a global view on this hot topic and 
decided to put the development of the draft standa rd on hold, requesting the Bureau to develop 
complimentary actions. 
7.  Of particular interest to the SPS Committee,  the IPPC secretariat held a pre-CPM-11 training 
session on the categorization of commodities according to their pest risk – International Standard 
for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) 32 – on 3 April 2016 in Rome, Italy. The training was attended by 95 participants, including representatives from contracting parties, RPPOs and international 
organizations, who actively contributed to the exercises and discussions held. 
8.  The FAO-IPPC-CIHEAM In ternational Workshop on Xylella fastidiosa  and the Olive Quick Decline 
Syndrome (OQDS) was successfully held from 19-22 April 2016, in Bari, Italy. The Workshop was 
organized by FAO, IPPC and CIHEAM (the Inte rnational Centre for Advanced Mediterranean 
Agronomic Studies), with support of the Near East  Plant Protection Organization (NEPPO) and the 
European Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). This is the first international workshop on Xylella fastidiosa  since the pest was reported on olive trees in 2013, in Puglia, Italy. Over 
140 participants attended the Workshop from 36 countries as well as eight international and 
regional organizations. G/SPS/GEN/1504 
 
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  9.  The 4th IPPC seminar on Plant Health Standards and Food Security, was held at FAO-HQ 
(Sheikh Zayed Centre) on 13 May 2016, which focused on how standards for plant health directly enhance food security globally. Over 100 participants attended the Seminar, including the permanent representatives of three Rome-based  UN agencies, members and observers of the 
IPPC Standards Committee, as well  as the IPPC and FAO staff. 
10.  The 28
th IPPC Standards Committee (SC) convened from 9 to 13 May at FAO-HQ in Rome. 
Key discussions included: the review and approval of ISPMs for country consultation, considering 
the reorganization of the suite of fruit fly standard s, oversight of the work of the Technical Panels, 
and discussions on how to enhance the interactions between standard setting and implementation facilitation units. Four draft ISPMs were appr oved for consultation: the draft standards on 
surveillance, temperature treatments requirements, the amendments to the Glossary  and the 
International movement of wood . All consultations on draft ISPMs this year will be conducted 
through the new Online Comment System (from 1 July to 30 September 2016), available at https://ocs-new.ippc.int/ . Comments will also be requested on implementation issues for all 
standards that are submitted for country consultation. 
11.  On conclusion of the STDF Project 350 "Global Phytosanitary Manuals, Standard Operating 
Procedures and Training Kits" by the IPPC secretariat, over 300 new phytosanitary technical 
resources have been posted, and more than 20 technical resources have been developed, 
including phytosanitary manuals, e-learning tools, training kits, advocacy materials, factsheets and 
photographic resources. The primary objective of this project was to enhance the global phytosanitary capacity to protect plant resources from pests of plants through strengthening 
contracting parties' ability to implement the IPPC  and its ISPMs. By providing contracting parties 
with a concrete set of internationally accepted technical resources, the project aimed to support implementation of core functions of contracting parties and ultimately work towards: 
a) establishing and strengthening national plant health systems; b) enhancing contracting party 
capacity to meet their international obligations; c) improving/maintaining access to markets through setting efficient phytosanitary systems; and d) supporting a national import and export 
certification programme. 
12.  The report of the IPPC secretariat would not be complete without an update on the 
secretariat's financial situation accompanied by a strong request for additional resources to sustain the work programme beyond the a minimal one to two year period. The secretariat has made 
significant strides in the secretariat's financial management practices; clarity and transparency are 
no longer issues – lack of sustained resources for operations is the primary problem. Secretariat operational funds are basically resourced by trust funds and projects, while the payroll comes 
primarily from the regular prog ramme. Any extra resources come from project funds, or are 
provided from other donors, or in the form of in-k ind contributions. A key change made in the past 
few years is the improved rigour and transparency  of secretariat budgeting and the annual work 
plan. 
13.  While there is a commitment from FAO to provide regular programme funds to the secretariat, 
as noted above these resources primarily provide support for personnel. There is a clear need to stabilise and provide sustained investment in core operational programmes. One way this could be 
done is by introducing sustained voluntary contributions. Such a fund could provide a more stable 
basis to establish operational and longer-term work programmes. This topic was discussed and supported by the Bureau for further discussion at  the Strategic Planning Group meeting in October 
2016, with a plan to introduce the idea at CPM-12 in 2017. 
14.  In reference to CPM-12 (2017), during CPM-11 the Republic of Korea offered, and the 
CPM accepted, to host CPM-12 in Incheon, Korea. This will be the first time in the history of the 
CPM that the meeting will be held outside of Rome. The IPPC secretariat greatly appreciates this 
generous offer and is looking forw ard to a highly successful CPM-12. 
15.  Finally, at the opening session of CPM-11,  Dr Rudy Rabbinge, emeritus professor at 
Wageningen University & Research, delivered a ke ynote address emphasizing the crucial role of 
Plant Health in Food Security in the past and in the future. This keynote address helped to kick-off 
the thematic year of Plant Health and Food Security , one of the five thematic years leading up to a 
hoped-for International Year of Plant Health in 2020. For 2017, the theme is "Plant Health and 
Trade Facilitation". 
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