IPPC highlights progress in key priority areas on plant health

19 March 2025, Rome. As the Nineteenth Session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM-19) goes underway, major progress was noted on key work areas of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). The IPPC had set eight development agenda items (DAIs) under the IPPC Strategic Framework 2020-2030 as a roadmap for the global protection of plant health. These DAIs provide specific areas of focus to achieve the IPPC mission of protecting plants from the impact of pests.

This year, the strategic framework reaches its halfway point of implementation. This is a key moment when the IPPC will review the framework’s implementation, address challenges, seize new opportunities such as harnessing innovation and technology, and adjust its course towards the most impactful and sustainable approaches in plant protection.

IPPC ePhyto Solution. Since its inception, the IPPC ePhyto Solution has increasingly shown impressive numbers in terms of adoption. As of November 2024, 136 countries have been registered to the IPPC ePhyto Hub, 53 through the GeNS, 92 countries are actively exchanging ePhytos. Upwards of seven million ePhytos have been exchanged with an average of 20 000 ePhytos each month. In 2024, an ePhyto Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) was created to sustain the system and is now accepting contributions from user countries.

Commodity-specific International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs). The next generation of IPPC standards, these are intended to guide countries in protecting internationally traded commodities and addressing import regulation challenges. The IPPC foresees that seven annexes to ISPM 46 will be adopted by 2028. In 2024, the IPPC made significant progress in developing standards on banana (Musa spp.) and fresh taro (Colocasia esculenta) which will be up for consultation in May 2025. Yesterday, CPM-19 adopted the first annex to ISPM 46 on mango fresh fruits: Annex 01 International movement of Mangifera indica fruit.

As of December 2024, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Japan and New Zealand have provided financial resources to support this development agenda item.

Management of e-commerce and postal and courier pathways. The IPPC produced an infographic video on e-commerce and a guide to managing the pest risk posed by goods ordered online and distributed through postal and courier pathways. The guide remains one of the most popular IPPC guides, with more than 1 000 downloads since its publication in 2023. The guide was translated to Spanish last year with support from the Comité de Sanidad Vegetal del Cono Sur (COSAVE). The IPPC organized a side session on e-commerce during CPM-18, and the topic was also highlighted during the 2024 International Day of Plant Health, with an interactive exhibition on display at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters. In addition, the IPPC Secretariat made numerous presentations on e-commerce and plant health at events organized by the World Customs Organization, Universal Postal Union and International Seed Federation. An IPPC Observatory e-commerce study was also initiated in 2024. The results of the study will be published in 2025 and presented to CPM-20 in 2026.

E-commerce activities were carried out through in-kind and financial contributions provided by Canada.

Developing guidance on the use of third-party entities. Two guides are planned for development namely, Authorizing entities to perform phytosanitary actions and Audit in the phytosanitary context. The Implementation and Capacity Development Committee (IC) Team overseeing this development agenda item recommended that due to the close linkages of the two guides, these should be developed in close coordination. Both guides are a high priority for the phytosanitary community. The guide on phytosanitary audits is partially funded by Canada but additional resources are needed to commence the work. The IPPC produced an investment prospectus on the Guidance on the use of third-party entities, at the request of the CPM Bureau in 2023 which it then approved in June 2024.

Strengthening pest outbreak alert and response system (POARS). The POARS Steering Group, tasked to oversee this DAI, developed the criteria for identifying emerging pests and an alert system for prevention, preparedness and response. The steering group also reviewed POARS governance options and analyzed the POARS’ functions regarding the Implementation and Capacity Development Committee, other IPPC bodies, and the Africa Phytosanitary Programme. A pilot initiative for POARS has been launched, accompanied by activities focusing on collaboration.

Assessment and management of the impact of climate change on plant health. The CPM Focus Group on Climate Change and Phytosanitary Issues overseeing this area of work developed the technical resource titled “Climate-change impacts on plant pests: a technical resource to support national and regional plant protection organizations”, published in September 2024. A series of webinars on “Climate change and phytosanitary measures” was successfully held, attended by around 1 500 virtual participants. A new webpage on “Climate change impacts on plant health’’ was developed on the International Phytosanitary Portal and serves as a repository of information and resources that will be useful beyond the mandate of the focus group. An updated action plan was also developed by the focus group, following the extension of its mandate at CPM-18. The action plan will be presented for adoption at CPM-19.

Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northen Ireland provides financial assistance to this DAI.

Meanwhile, the focus groups on two other DAIs are set to commence work, namely on the establishment of diagnostic laboratory network and global phytosanitary research coordination.

Related information (resource mobilization brochures)

• Investing in plant health: better lives for all
• Making trade safe by harmonizing electronic data exchange
• Supporting market access through commodity-specific plant health standards
• Guidance on the use of third-party entities
• Assessing and managing climate-change impacts on plant health
• Establishing a diagnostic laboratory network
• Establishing global phytosanitary research coordination