China South-South Cooperation project helps the IPPC Secretariat facilitate phytosanitary capacity development work in 2019

Rome, 29 January 2020 The IPPC Secretariat has been implementing a global project on capacity development under the framework of the FAO-China South-South Cooperation (SSC) programme since 2017 entitled “Strengthening the capacity of developing contracting parties to implement the IPPC and its Standards” (GCP/INT/291/CPR). The IPPC FAO-China SSC Project aims at enhancing the phytosanitary capacity of developing countries through the One Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and promoting bilateral cooperation on phytosanitary measures. A solid foundation was laid in 2018 through previous efforts of this programme and the IPPC FAO-China SSC Project continued to support these efforts in 2019. Major achievements were successfully accomplished throughout the year.

Thanks to the project, the phytosanitary capacity to implement the IPPC of 32 country representatives from over 16 countries was considerably improved. In September 2019, supported by this project, the IPPC Regional and the National Reporting Obligations (NRO) workshops for the Near East and North Africa region were held in Beirut, Lebanon. In addition, the 31st Technical Consultation among Regional Plant Protection Organizations (RPPOs) held in Nigeria was also supported.

As a result of this project, 24 developing countries strengthened bilateral and inter-regional cooperation as in May 2019, the IPPC High-level Symposium on Cooperation of Phytosanitary Measures among the BRI “One Belt” countries was held in Xi’an Shaanxi, China.

As one important part of this project, Sri Lanka and Cambodia have been selected as pilot sites where new technologies will be demonstrated and products related to plant health will be displayed. Two Memorandum of Understanding have been officially signed between the IPPC Secretary and each of these countries, which details a three-year work plan. In addition, the first Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation (PCE) and the first Technologies Training Course for Sri Lanka have been delivered successfully.

In 2019, the IPPC FAO-China SSC project provided human resources and supported professional staff from FAO headquarters, Regional offices, Country offices and experts from several countries. This project continues to facilitate developing countries to implement the IPPC, ISPMs and CPM recommendations.

Finally, the support of China was essential to raise awareness of the IPPC at global, regional and national levels. The IPPC FAO-China SSC project supported the development of several IPPC communication materials and advocacy initiatives, especially in preparation for the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) 2020. Several publications, including five factsheets related to the IYPH have been translated into Chinese with support from this project.

While implementing the FAO-China SSC Project, the IPPC Secretariat continues working hand in hand with China to help build the capacity in developing countries through the One Belt and Road Initiative.

Field demonstration of the IPPC-China project in in Cambodia, November 2019 @FAO