. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/553 
7 March 2005 
 
 (05-0971) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
  
 
REPORT ON ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN BY THE INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL 
ORGANIZATION FOR PLANT AND ANIMAL HEALTH (OIRSA) 
IN RESPECT OF THE AGREEMENT ON THE APPLICATION 
OF SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES 
 
Communication from OIRSA 
 
   The following communication, received on 4 March 2005, is being circulated at the request of 
the International Regional Organization fo r Plant and Animal Health (OIRSA). 
 
_______________ 
 
 
Training and dissemination in the area  of agricultural health and trade 
 1. The Regional Seminar on the Traceability of Animals and Food of Animal and Plant 
Origin  was held in Guatemala.  This event was ma de possible by the cooperation agreement between 
OIRSA, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) and the Spanish International 
Cooperation Agency (AECI).  It was attended by sp ecialists from the region's public and private 
sectors. 
2. Seminars geared towards both the public a nd private sectors on the Monitoring of Dairy 
Products and Good Practices for the Production of Hone y were organized in El Salvador through the 
Project for the Support of Agricultural Trade, whic h is jointly implemented by OIRSA and the Inter-
American Development Bank (IDB). 
3. OIRSA participated in the Regional Congress on Organic Production, which was held in 
Panama, and delivered master lectures on the follo wing:  (a) the importance to the region of food 
quality and safety assurance and control systems;  (b ) institutional and legal constraints in the region 
as regards food safety, with a special focus on Good  Agricultural Practices (GPA) / Integrated Pest 
Management (IPM) / Organic Farming;  (c) biopes ticides and biofertilizers and their significance with 
regard to food safety; and (d) the production, pr ocessing, labelling and marke ting of organic products. 
Technological master's degree programme in  sanitary and phyto sanitary measures 
 
4. The graduation ceremony of the Third Cycle of the Master's Degree Programme was held in 
Guatemala.  As mentioned on other occasions, this  programme is a joint endeavour of member 
countries, OIRSA and the Colegio de Postgraduados de México (Postgraduate College of Mexico).  
A total of 23 public sector professi onals graduated on this occasion. G/SPS/GEN/553 
Page 2  
 
 Support for the prevention, control a nd eradication of pests and diseases  
 
5. The National Programme for the Control and Eradication of Classical Swine Fever was 
launched in El Salvador.  The aim of this progr amme, which receives technical and financial support 
from Chinese Taipei, OIRSA and the government of El Salvador, is for the country to be declared free 
from this disease by 2009. 
6. At the time of the outbreak of Venezuelan  equine encephalitis (VEE) in Belize, local 
authorities were provided with technical advice on aspects of vaccination, diagnosis and viral 
isolation. 
Support for the dissemination of international standards  
 
7. A regional workshop was sponsored to review  the draft International Standards for 
Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) rel eased for country consultation in 2004 by the IPPC Secretariat.  
The revised draft ISPMs included:  (a) Amendmen ts to ISPM No. 5 (Glossary of phytosanitary 
terms);  (b) Guidelines for consignments in trans it;  (c) Guidelines for inspection of consignments;  
(d) Revision of ISPM No. 3 (Guidelines for the e xport, shipment, import and release of biological 
control agents and beneficial organisms);  (e ) Guidelines on the concept of equivalence of 
phytosanitary measures and its application in inte rnational trade;  and (f) Requirements for the 
establishment, maintenance and verification of areas of low pest prevalence (July 2004). 
8. The second edition of the OIRSA Regional Plant Health Standard (NRSV) entitled 
"Guidelines for the drafting, approval, publication,  adoption and revision of OIRSA Regional Plant 
Health Standards" was approve d and published (November 2005). 
Strengthening of national health institutions with a view to facilitating trade 
 
9. Within the framework of the Regional Project for the Support of Agricultural Trade, the 
Nicaraguan and Costa Rican quarantine information system was provided with computer equipment. 
__________