Establishment of the IPPC Sea Containers Task Force SCTF)

Photo Copyright IPPC 2016.

Sea Containers are a notorious pathway for the potential entry of pests, as they are the most common means of transfer of internationally traded goods and moving personal effects. The entry and spread of pests to new areas via sea containers could result in important control and eradication costs, losses in yields and access to export markets, and threaten food security, agriculture, as well as the environment.

The IPPC Sea Containers Task Force (SCTF) was officially formulated on 6th November 2017 on the occasion of its first meeting held in Shanghai, China, from 6-10 November 2017. The IPPC SCTF was originally established as per the ToR and RoP agreed upon by the CPM Bureau in its June 2017 meeting. In July of 2017, the IPPC Secretariat issued a call for the nomination of appropriately qualified experts from contracting parties (CPs) to participate in the Sea Container Task Force. The IPPC Secretariat reviewed the nominations and the final selection of experts was made by the CPM Bureau based on a stringent selection criteria.

The IPPC SCTF is composed of representatives from IPPC contracting parties, the CPM Bureau, the IPPC Standards Committee (SC), the IPPC Implementation and Capacity Development Committee (IC), RPPOs, as well as some international organizations and phytosanitary experts with experience relevant to pest risks on sea containers and their management.

The IPPC SCTF is a sub-group of the IC of the IPPC and will operate on a temporary basis for the next five years (2017-2021) to supervise the actions of the Complementary Action Plan through:

• Providing information on pest risks of sea containers and their management;
• Coordinating with contracting parties, regional plant protection organizations (RPPOs), industry and other international organizations
• Establishing a mechanism for contracting parties to report to CPM on their progress and achievements;
• Providing advice on how the Cargo Transport Unit (CTU) shipping code or any other instrument could be updated; and
• Providing updates through the IC on its activities to be presented annually to the CPM, as well as a final report for presentation to CPM-16 (2021).

For more information on the Sea Containers - Complementary Action Plan click here.