Works on Harmonization of International Phytosanitary Terminology

The IPPC Technical Panel for the Glossary (TPG) meeting was held 7 - 10 December 2015 in Rome, Italy. The meeting was opened by the IPPC Secretary, Mr Jingyuan Xia, and was chaired by Mr John Hedley (New Zealand). All eight TPG members participated, including the TPG Steward, Ms Laurence Bouhot-Delduc (France), hereby representing the six official FAO languages. The TPG works on harmonization of international phytosanitary terminology, and revises the Glossary of phytosanitary terms (ISPM 5). It has an essential role in ensuring a holistic and horizontal review of consistency in the use of terms in all draft ISPMs.

For the 2015 meeting, the TPG reviewed 12 draft ISPMs, phytosanitary treatments and diagnostic protocols. The TPG also worked on finalizing the Annotated Glossary, the very much used explanatory document for ISPM 5, which will be published in the first half of 2016. The TPG currently has 33 terms on their work programme. The next TPG meeting is tentatively scheduled 5-9 December 2016 in Rome, Italy.