Call for Topics: Standards and Implementation

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

As agreed by the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) at its 13th session, a combined Call for Topics for Standards and Implementation resources for inclusion in the IPPC work programme was made for the first time in 2018. The Call is held every two years and the last Call for Topics was issued in 2023.

TOPIC PROPOSALS

Contracting parties and regional plant protection organizations (RPPOs) should submit their topic proposals prior to 15 September 2023.

Topics may include the following:

Standards:

• New topics for International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs);
• New components to existing ISPMs, such as supplements, annexes, appendices, or glossary terms;
• Revisions or amendments to adopted ISPMs, supplements, annexes, appendices, or glossary terms;
• Pests for which a new diagnostic protocol should be developed.

Implementation resources:

• New implementation resources (e.g. guides, e-Learning courses, training kits, videos);
• Revisions to existing IPPC implementation resources.

NOTE: Proposals for Phytosanitary Treatments (as annexes to ISPM 28: Phytosanitary treatments for regulated pests) are solicited separately in an ongoing call for treatments.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

IMPORTANT: Please make your submissions by using the email address of IPPC Official Contact Point or RPPO and not the alternative email address.

Since 2021 to facilitate the submission of the topics, the IPPC Secretariat introduced a new format of submissions: online submission forms. Please click on the links below to proceed with the electronic form submission and follow the instructions provided on the screen. The online submission forms allow you to navigate between pages and refresh them without losing the submission progress. These online submission forms will allow contracting parties to submit their topics via the IPPC Official Contact Points (OCPs), as well as RPPOs, while meeting all the mandatory criteria set forth by the CPM. In addition, to indicate a broader need for the proposed topic, submitters are encouraged to gain support from other contracting parties and/or RPPOs and to provide letters of support from them.

A topic submission is considered complete if:

1. For proposed standards, both the “Submission form for topics for Standards and Implementation” and the “Draft specification form for proposed standards” are submitted; or
2. For proposed implementation resources, both the “Submission form for topics for Standards and Implementation” and the “Draft specification form for proposed IPPC guides and training materials” are submitted; or
3. For Diagnostic Protocols, a “Submission form for Diagnostic Protocols for Regulated Pests (Annexes to ISPM 27)” is submitted.

The submission should include a literature review and a justification of how the proposed topic meets the Criteria for justification and prioritization of proposed topics (CPM-13).

Please note that the CPM at its 13th session requested contracting parties and RPPOs to use the Framework for Standards and Implementation as a reference when responding to the Call for Topics to fill gaps identified by the Framework.

For a successful topic submission, please also review:

• Convention text
• Strategic Framework for the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) 2020–2030
• IPPC Procedure manual for standard setting
• Process for the Development of IPPC Guides and Training Materials (2023)
• List of topics for IPPC standards
• List of Implementation and Capacity Development Topics

According to the IPPC procedures, the submissions can be accepted only from the IPPC OCPs or RPPOs. Hence, please make sure that in the “Email of the IPPC Official Contact Point or the regional plant protection organization” field, your email address is correct, as you will receive an automated email from the IPPC Secretariat after you have submitted your application, with instructions on how to proceed further.

If the IPPC OCP or RPPO wishes to submit the electronic forms from a different email address, please contact Mr Emmanuel Plarhar Krah ([email protected]), Mr Artur Shamilov ([email protected]), or Mr Descartes Koumba ([email protected]) with a request to grant permission to submit the electronic form.

If you do not represent the OCP or RPPO, but you wish to submit the topic, please contact your IPPC OCP or RPPO for more information:

• List of the IPPC Official Contact Points is available at this link: http://www.ippc.int/en/countries/all/contactpoints/
• List of the RPPOs is available at this link: http://www.ippc.int/en/external-cooperation/regional-plant-protection-organizations/

TIPS FOR SUBMISSION THE FORMS

• Please use the latest version of your internet browser to fill the electronic submission form;
• If you have an unstable internet connection, you can still fill the submission forms, and once the connection is back, you can click “Submit”. However, please do not close the browser during the process.

REFERENCE MATERIALS

Word and PDF versions of the online submission forms are available in the table below, to help you prepare your submission:

• Submission template for topics for Standards and Implementation;
• Draft specification template for proposed standards;
• Draft specification template for IPPC guides and training materials;
• Submission template for Diagnostic Protocols for Regulated Pests (Annexes to ISPM 27).

CONTACTS

If you have any difficulty using the online submission forms, please contact Mr Emmanuel Plarhar Krah ([email protected]), Mr Artur Shamilov ([email protected]), or Mr Descartes Koumba ([email protected]), so the IPPC Secretariat will help you in resolving these issues.

If a contracting party or RPPO seeks clarification on the submission process, please contact your respective Task Force on Topics (TFT), CPM Bureau, SC or IC members.

PROCESS OF THE CALL FOR TOPICS: STANDARDS AND IMPLEMENTATION

After the Call closes, the Secretariat will compile the list of proposed work programme topics from the received submissions and post them on the IPP. Submissions from previous calls, which were not added to the work programme, will not be considered unless resubmitted in 2023. In a process agreed by CPM-13 (with an amended timeline agreed by the TFT in 2023, see figure below), the TFT will screen the submitted topics against established criteria for justification and prioritization of proposed topics and develop recommendations to the Standards Committee (SC) and Implementation and Capacity Development Committee (IC) for in-depth review. After evaluating the entire list of submissions and associated recommendations, the SC and IC will recommend topics for the development of standards and/or implementation resources and suggest an associated position in the Framework for Standards and Implementation. Finally, the TFT will discuss SC and IC outcomes, agree with and prepare recommendations and priorities to the recommendations to be presented to the CPM for adoption.

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