IPPC Implementation Committee concludes first in-person meeting to review progress

Rome, 12 December 2022. The Implementation Committee (IC) of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) met in Rome on 21-25 November to review the progress of the Committee’s workplan for the year. This was the IC’s first in-person meeting since November 2019, with virtual meetings being held during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sarah Brunel, Officer in Charge of IPPC Implementation and Facilitation Unit, opened the meeting by thanking the IC members for their productive work, dedication and ability to adapt to the challenges of the virtual work environment, noting the importance of the IC in the implementation of the new IPPC Strategic Framework 2020-2030.

When reviewing progress made on the 2022 IFU workplan, the IC chairperson thanked the secretariat for all the good work and outstanding achievements despite the staff shortage. Successful activities conducted throughout 2022, which were highlighted, included improving the bi-monthly updates from the IPPC Implementation Facilitation Unit, publishing of new guides, development of e-learning courses, assisting multiple countries in completing Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluations (PCEs) as well as the new projects and collaboration with other FAO units funded by the European Union and the U.S. Agency for International Development, that feed into the One Health initiative.

After having noted progress made in 2022, the IC endorsed the 2023 IFU proposed workplan, with the Secretariat and the IC jointly agreeing that one of the focus areas for 2023 is the successful implementation of the new IPPC guides and e-learning courses developed in 2022. With new implementation materials spanning across a range of phytosanitary topics – from pest risk analysis, surveillance, pest status, pest reporting, contingency planning, inspection and export certification to managing the phytosanitary risks associated with wood packaging material and e-Commerce – the IC confirmed that the priority remains to increase awareness and use of these materials within the phytosanitary community. The IC noted the improvements made to the webpages on guides and training materials on the International Phytosanitary Portal and offered their support in promoting the resources, with some regional representatives voicing interest in organizing workshops in 2023.

Updates were shared by IC Team leads across key topics including Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluations (PCE) where, in line with the PCE strategy for 2020–2030 and compliant with the IPPC Strategic Framework 2020-2030, the IC endorsed an independent desk study to take place in 2023. This desk study will focus on analyzing and understanding how to further improve and build on the PCE tool and process to best support the national plant protection organizations that are carrying out PCEs in their countries, whilst ensuring that the sovereign rights of contracting parties are maintained to prevent any possible conflicts of interest. Once completed, the study will be published, the outcomes of which will inform the longer-term PCE strategy and 2024 workplan.

Within the framework of the IPPC Observatory, the secretariat led a session where key learnings were shared on improving the survey process and response rate, following the desk study on survey design conducted earlier this year by Price Waterhouse Cooper. Taking as an example the IPPC Observatory survey on e-commerce planned for 2023, the IC elaborated some of the learnings through a group exercise on how to improve survey response rates. Following small-group discussions on priority elements to be improved throughout the survey process, IC members presented recommendations which will be incorporated in improving the way the IPPC Observatory will be conducting surveys henceforth.

Looking ahead to 2023 and beyond, the secretariat invited the IC to review the status of the topics on the ICD List of Topics (ICD LOT) and identify which topics should be developed next, subject to the availability of resources. The ICD LOT is being updated to reflect the agreed prioritization.

The IC was very honoured to welcome IPPC Secretary Osama El-Lissy on the fourth day of the meeting who shared a presentation of three new initiatives for the secretariat: a global phytosanitary programme, global phytosanitary trade support team and the IPPC Centre of Excellence. The IC responded to the three initiatives with great enthusiasm and urged the teams responsible to make use of existing knowledge where possible, including how to maximize the IPPC’s existing phytosanitary system component webpages, as a precursor of the future IPPC Centre of Excellence.

On closing the IC November 2022 meeting the IC Chair, Dominique Pelletier, thanked all those attending for the fruitful discussions and said, “I feel very privileged to work with such a dedicated and enthusiastic group of plant protection professionals and, after having seen what we have achieved so far, I very much look forward to 2023 and seeing some of the decisions we have taken this week take shape.”

The November IC meeting report is available: https://www.ippc.int/en/publications/91837/