The IPPC National Reporting Obligations Workshop for the South-West Pacific held in Fiji

The IPPC National Reporting Obligations Workshop for the South-West Pacific was held in Nadi, Fiji on 10th and 11th August 2017. The Workshop was jointly organized by the IPPC Secretariat and the Pacific Community (SPC), and supported financially by the FAO-China South-South Cooperation Programme and the Australian AID. The Workshop was attended by 29 participants (including 8 female participants) from 21 countries belonging to the Pacific Plant Protection Organisation (PPPO).

Mr Josua Wainiqolo, PPPO Secretariat and Coordinator from Biosecurity & Trade of the SPC, delivered opening remarks supported by Ms Luisa Korodrau-Tikoinasau from the SPC Secretariat. The Workshop was facilitated by Ms Dorota Buzon, NRO Programme Officer, and Ms Paola Sentinelli, Knowledge Manager, from the IPPC Secretariat.

During the two day Workshop participants were made familiar with basic information on NROs (Public and Bilateral NROs; General and specific NRO rules and procedures; NRO educational materials) and the latest developments in NROs (NROs UPDATE newsletter; the NRO Year of Phytosanitary legislation; new NRO oversight body; e-learning; NRO automatic reminders; NRO statistics) and were given practical advice based on frequently asked questions. The Workshop included a hands-on training of the IPP data entry and upload of reports brought by participants. Valuable feedback from participants regarding possible improvements to reporting and IPP website was collected to serve as the basis for future work and improvements in the NRO area.

The Workshop disseminated knowledge on NROs while raising awareness among participants; improved number of reports and their quality on the IPP; assisted with experience sharing between participants and trained participants in reports upload on the IPP.