WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/730 
12 October 2006 
 (06-4905) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
 
INTERNATIONAL PLANT PROTECTION CONVENTION (IPPC) 
UPDATE ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES 
OCTOBER 2006 
  
 The following communication, received on 10 Octo ber 2006, is being circulated at the request 
of the IPPC.  
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 1. Article XI (2) of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) stipulates that the 
function of the Commission shall be "to promote th e full implementation of the objectives of the 
Convention...".  In addition, in Article XX, the c ontracting parties agree "to promote the provision of 
technical assistance to contracting parties ... either bilaterally or th rough the appropriate international 
organisations, with the objective of facilitati ng the implementation of this Convention." 
2. The IPPC secretariat's interventions are designe d to build capacity for implementation of the 
international standards and the IPPC.  This report summarises the status of capacity building activities 
projected for the year 2006-2007. 
Table of the status of current projects under the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP)  
 
Current  TCP 
Projects Beneficiary countries St atus Termination Notes 
 
1. Technical Cooperation Projects  
TCP/ZAM/2904 Zambia *completed  2005 *Terminal Statement 
still to be finalized 
TCP/UGA/2907 
General capacity 
building Uganda *completed 2005 *Terminal Statement 
to be finalized 
TCP/RAF/2923  
containment of 
Bactrocera invadens (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda) operational Dec 2006 Comprehensive 
management project 
proposal  developed 
for donors consideration and 
funding G/SPS/GEN/730 
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  Current  TCP 
Projects Beneficiary countries St atus Termination Notes 
TCP/SYR/3001 
General capacity 
building Syria operational 2006 Final activities to be 
concluded by 
December 2006 
TCP/YEM/3005  
General capacity 
building Yemen operational 2006 Project extended to 
include surveillance 
activities 
TCP/RAB/3004 
General capacity building and 
information 
management system GCC - 6 countries operational 2006 Final activities to be 
concluded by December  
TCP/RAS/3002 PRA for SALB APPPC  (7 countries) *completed 2005 *Terminal statement 
to be finalized 
TCP/NEP/2903 Nepal *completed 2005 *Terminal statement 
to be finalized 
TCP/SWA/3003  
general capacity building (Swaziland) operational 2006 Final mission 
proposed for November 
TCP/RAF/3013 (A) 
information 
exchange Regional Africa (52 
countries) operational 2006 Two regional 
workshops 
completed  national activities 
ongoing 
TCP/GAM/ 
General capacity building Gambia operational 2007 First joint mission 
scheduled for October 2006 
TCP/MOZ/3101 Mozambique operational 2007 One mission 
completed, second 
joint mission in 
October 2006 
TCP/ETH/... Ethiopia reformulated 
for approval   
 
Unilateral Trust Fund and other Projects 
 
UTF / Bahrain (US$ 3.5m) and UTF/Saudi Arabia (US$4.6m):  These projects have been formulated, 
discussed and are now being considered by Governments for their approval for implementation by 
FAO. 
 SPFS CARIFORUM:
 This project is operational. A phyto sanitary expert is now conducting a 
comprehensive phytosanitary capacity evaluation using the PCE tool in CARIFORUM countries. 
 PSFS – UMA (Mahgreb countries) (US$1.2m):
 Project approved, funding confirmed, not yet 
operational. 
 GCP / Asia: (US$0.89m):
 Project to be funded by Japan for selected countries of Asia. This is a 
capacity building project and will be managed by HQ.   G/SPS/GEN/730 
 Page 3 
 
 
  Capacity-building workshops 
 
3. A Capacity building workshop for potential resource persons and Technical Cooperation 
among Developing Countries (TCDC) consultants to  support the technical assistance programme in 
the field, was held in Nairobi 15-28 May 2006.  Twelve phytosanitary personnel from the African region atended this workshop (includi ng Madagascar and Seyschelles).  
4. The sub-regional workshop for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on the 
International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures,  pest risk analysis (PRA) and phytosanitary 
capacity evaluation is now scheduled for February 2007.  
Workshops on draft ISPMs  
 
5. The Secretariat facilitated seven  regional workshops on draft International Standards on 
Phytosanitary Measures during 2006.  The USDA provided funding for the workshops in East and West Africa, the Republic of Korea provided funds for the workshop in Asia, and the others were 
funded from IPPC Trust funds.  These workshops were well attended and are very important 
especially for countries in which lack of capacity constrains official meaningful responses to the 
Standards Committee.  
Informal Working Group on the Phy tosanitary Capacity Evaluation 
 6. A meeting of the Informal Working Group on th e PCE (IWG-PCE) is scheduled to take place 
in Nairobi, 4-8 December.  The WG will review th e PCE assessment report of the study undertaken 
by CABI, review and update the current modules of the PCE, consider possibilities for further update 
of the tool and consider maintenance and updating issues with respect to incorporating new ISPMs, 
compatibility with IPP etc. 
International liaison 
 
7. CABI (Africa), Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate, University of Nairobi and other stakeholders 
– participate in discussions and actions towards the establishment of a Regiona l Centre of Excellence 
in Kenya.  There is ongoing discussion regarding this subject. 
 
 
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