The first 2022 face-to-face EWG meeting is ready to draft a new annex to the International Standard on International movement of wood!

13 June 2022, Vancouver - The IPPC Expert Working Group (EWG) is slated to meet from 13 to 17 June 2022 in Vancouver, Canada, to develop the draft Annex on the use of systems approaches in managing pest risks associated with the movement of wood (2015-004) to ISPM 39 (International movement of wood).

The EWG experts are tasked to develop an annex according to Specification 69. The annex should provide guidance to NPPOs on the use, within the context of a systems approach, of specific phytosanitary measures that act independently but when applied together they provide complementary and synergistic mitigation of quarantine pest risks associated with wood. This guidance would be designed to be as specific as possible for pest groups associated with wood, or pests of specific areas within the wood, or pests of specific types of wood.

The annex would build upon guidance already established by the IPPC and aim to identify specific procedures and practices that may be practically applied from production to export of wood to meet phytosanitary import requirements.

The meeting is co-organized by the IPPC Secretariat and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and supported by the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO). EWG meeting is chaired by Mr Steve Côté (CFIA, National Manager, International Phytosanitary Standards unit). Twelve participants will be engaged in the meeting, including six members of the EWG (representing Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America) as well as the Steward of the ISPM, host representative, and an invited expert from the Implementation and Capacity Development Committee.

The report of the meeting will be available on the IPP: https://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/standards-setting/expert-drafting-groups/expert-working-groups/.

The IPPC Secretariat wishes to thank CFIA and NAPPO for co-organizing and hosting the EWG meeting, as well as for their financial contribution.