Italian Rural Development Directorate hosts first meeting of International Plant Protection Convention's Capacity Development Committee

December 2012, Rome - The Rural Development Directorate of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies hosted the launch of the new Capacity Development Committee of the International Plant Protection Convention. The International Plant Protection Convention is an international treaty hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that includes 177 member countries and this year celebrates its 60th anniversary.

The International Plant Protection Convention facilitates global cooperation to protect plant resources from pests. Pests such as insects, diseases and invasive plants can damage a country s food security, natural habitats and market access. Cooperation to prevent their impact will become increasingly important in the years ahead as the challenges posed by globalization and the cross-border movement of injurious plant pests and diseases, continue to increase. In Italy, significant damage to plant resources from pests includes widespread death of palms due to a palm weevil, and to chestnut trees due to a non-native wasp.

The International Plant Protection Convention strengthens global cooperation to put systems in place that prevent these devastating impacts on plants. Through this effort, the International Plant Protection Convention works to:

Enhance global food security; Protect the environment, forest and biodiversity from plant pests; and Facilitate economic and trade development The Capacity Development Committee consists of technical representatives from all regions of the world, and will provide oversight to key activities to strengthen global capacity to implement the International Plant Protection Convention.

Climate change, increasingly complex trade flows, and new pests create new challenges to protect plants from pests that that threaten our food, biodiversity and natural habitats. The International Plant Protection Convention enhances global cooperation to address these challenges, and this week s work by these experts in Rome will develop a long term plan to strengthen the global implementation of this agreement.

A photograph of the CDC meeting participants.

CDC meeting participants in Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, Rome, Italy

Author(s)/editor(s) IPPC Secretariat Publication Date 03-12-2012 Date to expire 31-12-2013 Issue keywords Capacity building;IPPC Governance Contact for more informations:

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