WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SPS/GEN/1152 
27 March 2012 
 (12-1636) 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
IPPC CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES 
Committee on Sanitary and Phyto sanitary Measures 27-29 March 2012 
Agenda Item 9 (c) - Information from Observers 
 
 
 The following communication, received on 26 March 2012, is circulated at the request of the 
International Plant Protection Convention secretariat (IPPC). 
 
_______________ 
  
1. Introduction 
1. The Second Expert Working Group on Capacity Development (EWGCD) took place in 
Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 23-27 May 2011.  All FAO regions were represented, except Africa.  Two 
observers ,the Standards and Trade Development Faci lity (STDF) and the Inter-American Institute for 
Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), participated in the meeting. 
2. At this meeting, the EWGCD considered several  initiatives of the short term work plan  and 
prepared the final draft of the Capacity Devel opment Work Plan, as well as the proposal for an 
oversight structure for IPPC capacity development.  
2. Use of the Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation Tool 
3. In 2011, the IPPC secretariat staff facilitated th e use of the Phytosanita ry Capacity Evaluation 
Tool (PCE) in eight developing countries (Afgha nistan, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Burundi, Lebanon, 
Lesotho, Mozambique and Oman).  Some countries have developed strategic frameworks from their 
use of the PCE.  Many donors are now requiring  a PCE to be performed as a pre-condition in 
assessing fitness for funding of project proposals submitted for consideration, as had been recommended at CPM-6 (2011).  The Capacity Building area of the Codex Alimentarius is evaluating the possibility to develop a similar tool for th e same purposes, following guidance from the PCE. 
4. Up to the end of November 2011, the secretariat had received 32 requests for facilitation of 
the PCE application in 2012. 
3. IPPC Capacity Development Projects 
5. In 2011, the secretariat collaborated with donor agencies and contracting parties in the 
delivery of technical assistance for capacity buildin g projects, funded through various sources.  The 
secretariat primarily dealt with FAO projects, which are still a major part of the capacity development 
activities of the secretariat.  However, the secretariat is increasingly involved, under a supervisory or implementation agreement, with the Standards a nd Trade Development Facility (STDF) because of 
the need to address SPS related issues and the availability of STDF funds.  G/SPS/GEN/1152 
Page 2  
 
  6. In 2011, 35 different capacity development pr ojects, at the national, regional and global 
levels, required the participation of the IPPC secr etariat.  These projects are at various stages of 
development, funded by different sources and initiatives and require di fferent types of inputs.  Among 
them, and as the product of a focused effort of th e EWGCD, a project named:  "Global Phytosanitary 
Manuals, Standard Operating Procedures and Traini ng Kits", was presented to the STDF for funding 
by Jamaica, Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire and Malaysia , strongly supported by NPPOs and RPPOs around the 
world.  The aim of the project is to increase the ability of developing countries to access basic national 
documentary procedures for effective implementation of  the IPPC and its standards.  The project was 
approved in March 2011, with an STDF contributio n of US$600 000, to be implemented by the IPPC 
secretariat. 
7. Considering multiple requests received to provi de tools on pest risk assessment (PRA) in 
addition to the training course on PRA in the International Phytosanitary Portal (IPP), the secretariat partnered with several other organizations  (t he Inter-American Development Bank, the Inter-
American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, and the US Department of Agriculture's Animal 
and Plant Health Inspection Service) to develop a  comprehensive training programme on pest risk 
assessment in Spanish and English, in the form of an E-learning course.  This addressed an urgent 
need for training in PRA in the Latin American and Caribbean region, and has worldwide application.  
It could be translated into other languages if resource s are available.  This is the first project of its 
kind and represents the type of direction the IPPC secretariat wishes to take in the area of capacity 
development. 
4. Phytosanitary Resources 
8. The EWGCD agreed to create an inventory of av ailable technical resources in all languages, 
through a call for resources posted on the IPP, direct ed to all IPPC contracting parties, RPPOs and 
relevant organizations.  This was undertaken in or der to prioritize the technical resources to be 
developed through the previously mentioned STDF project  and avoid overlaps.  With this aim also in 
mind, the EWGCD prepared lists of priorities for the development of manuals  and standard perating 
procedures (SOPs) in different areas of activity of the NPPOs. 
9. As of November 2011, nearly 300 manuals, re ports, handbooks, guidelines, links, etc, have 
been received by the secretariat and are being cons idered by the EWGCD.  Further decisions on the 
upload of these contributions into the Resources page  of the IPPC will be made at the 2012 meeting of 
the EWGCD. 
10. To assist with prioritizing the resources to be developed under the STDF project, the EWGCD 
is proposing to use an independent prioritizati on tool developed by the STDF, the Multi Criteria 
Decision Analysis approach.  Other sources of info rmation, such as PCE data, the requests received 
during capacity development activities and specific concerns of the CPM subsidiary bodies (e.g. 
Standards Committee) and international and region al organizations such as the WTO and RPPOs, 
could also be considered during this process. 
11. These phytosanitary resources are going to be made available on a specific Website 
(http://www.phytosanitary.info ) under the following categories:  Media library, Training material, 
Advocacy, Databases and Tools, Upcoming events and Miscellaneous, and will include presentations, 
photos, videos, E-learning courses, ma nuals, SOPs, and completed PRAs. 
12. Using additional resources for capacity devel opment through the FAO regular programme in 
the last quarter of 2011, the secretariat contracted CABI to develop one study and prepare two 
manuals as an advanced approach to the population of the resource page.  It was perceived that more 
clarity on the use of the concept of equivalence in  the plant health area was needed.  Additionally 
under the same agreement with CABI, two manuals  were produced:  "A guide to market access  G/SPS/GEN/1152 
 Page 3 
 
 
  negotiations for NPPOs" and "A manual on handling transit of consignments presenting possible pest 
risks".  
5. Development of a Separate IPPC Tr ust Fund for Capacity Development  
13. Broadening and strengthening partnerships towards more targeted support for the 
implementation of the IPPC strategy for building na tional phytosanitary capacity is a key objective of 
the IPPC.  
14. A general trust fund for IPPC capacity developm ent (CD trust fund) was created in December 
2011.  At every CPM  there is a specific call made  for extra-budgetary resources to be provided to 
support important IPPC activities.  Following the est ablishment of the Capacity Development Strategy 
there has been more interest in contributions earmark ed for specific purposes.  In  this regard there was 
a need to create a new trust fund to accept these co ntributions since the current General IPPC Trust 
fund structure and rules do not accommodate them.  This separate trust f und allows donors to deposit 
funds for specific purposes for capacity development and provides a platform for greater accountability on the part of the IPPC.  
15. The CD trust fund will accept voluntary cont ributions from external partners for 
implementation by the IPPC, either alone or in colla boration with others, and for specific purposes.  In 
the case of un-earmarked contributions, the CD trus t fund may be used for any element or number of 
activities outlined in the strategy so long as those ac tivities have been prioritized.  Contributions that 
are earmarked for agreed purposes with a donor shall not overlap with traditional FAO projects.  The 
donor may opt to establish a separate agreement with the IPPC for the administration of those funds 
for what is referred to in the FAO context as "baby pr ojects" under this CD trust fund, or they may  be 
deposited directly  into the CD  trust fund.  Si nce the IPPC National Capacity Development strategy 
is broad  this provides potential donors, traditional and non-traditional, greater scope to collaborate 
with the IPPC on a range of topics, knowing that all funding can be tracked and accounted for under a 
single trust fund or through baby-trust funds associated with it.  
16. Due to the global nature of the IPPC capacity  development strategy, the activities to be 
supported through the above CD trust fund may be applied to global, re gional or national initiatives as 
long as they do not overlap with FAO funded projects.  Preference will be for projects for global application.  For projects or initiatives that focus on one or a few countries, the IPPC will ensure that 
the budget holder responsibilities are retained by the respective FAO offices in the relevant countries 
for activities that are to be implemented nationally.  
17. Types of projects that can be supported under this programme include: 
 Advisory services (e.g. project reviews, provision of technical opinions, etc.); 
 Technical backstopping (e.g. supervision of projects, country capacity evaluations project 
writing etc.);  and 
 Implementation (training, workshops, case st udies and other research oriented activities, 
provision of expert services, project management). 
The types of projects shall not be limited to the a bove but should be aligned w ith the table of activities 
envisioned by the IPPC national capacity development strategy. 
18. The CD trust fund will improve participation, pa rticularly of least developed or developing 
countries, in training and other capacity developm ent activities.  The IPPC has established the CD 
trust fund to encourage donors to support NPPOs in improving their ability to reduce the risks of the G/SPS/GEN/1152 
Page 4  
 
  global movement of plant pests, particularly in trad e, by building capacity at the policy, legislative, 
organizational and technical levels.  
19. During CPM-7, Japan announced a generous contri bution to the IPPC CD trust fund, in terms 
of providing assistance for the work of  the new oversight structure for CD. 
6. Oversight structure for the IPPC Wo rk on Capacity Development  
20. At the Second Expert Working Group on Capacity Development (EWGCD), the discussion 
on the establishment of a body or specialized structure on CD was addressed, according to the 
instructions received from CPM-5 ( 2010). 
21. Based on these discussions the CPM Bureau recommended that: 
 A more formal structure to provide guidance a nd oversight of the IPPC capacity development 
programme was needed; 
 The secretariat prepare a proposal to send to  the CPM via the Informal Working Group on 
Strategic Planning and Technical Assistance (SPTA), for the establishment of either a capacity development subsidiary body or for a capacity development group.  
Both  proposals were presented to CPM-7 for consideration.  
 22. The CPM addressed first the issue of the work ing format of the oversight structure for 
capacity development and decided to select the format  of a Technical Committee for two years.  After 
two years the CPM should review the function of the Committee, including whether to establish a 
subsidiary body.  
23. The CPM decided finally to establish an I PPC Capacity Development Committee (CDC), 
under specific Terms of Reference and Rules of Pro cedure, which should be operational as of 2013.  
In the meantime, the EWG CD shall continue its  work in the area of capacity development. 
 
__________