Latest Developments in Standards and Other News from the IPPC Standards Committee Meeting

Photo: The IPPC Standards Committee (SC) at their November 2018 meeting in Rome. A new draft standard on Guidance on Pest Risk Management was one of the items they discussed.

19 - 23 November 2018, Rome - The 32nd meeting of the Standards Committee (SC) kicked off with the recommendation of two draft standards to the Committee on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM-14) 2019 for adoption. These are the:

• 2017 amendments to ISPM 5 (Glossary of Phytosanitary Terms); and
• the draft ISPM on the Requirements for the use of Fumigation as a Phytosanitary Measure which will provide countries with the necessary technical guidance to use when applying fumigation treatments.

Guidance on pest risk management: a new draft ISPM

The SC also reviewed a new draft ISPM on Guidance on Pest Risk Management. Discussions focused on how to include more guidance on selecting pest risk management options and criteria for deciding on appropriate phytosanitary measures. It was noted that decision schemes or a matrix approach might be helpful for harmonizing actions and elements on how to determine the effectiveness of measures could be included. The SC will work further on revising the draft ISPM, through a small SC working group, with the intent to present it again to the SC in May 2019.

Approval of a new specification

The SC then went on to approve a new Specification 69: Use of systems approaches in managing the pest risks associated with the movement of wood, which will enable the development of an annex to ISPM 39 (International movement of wood). The specification will be made available on the IPPC website in the coming weeks at the following link: https://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/standards-setting/approved-specifications/

Other topics discussed

Aside from the core business of the SC, which is to review and approve draft International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) and Specifications, a number of other important strategic items were on the agenda for the week. For example, the SC reviewed the submissions from the 2018 joint Call for Topics: Standards and Implementation and discussed the recommendations developed by the Task Force on Topics.

The SC recommended adding one glossary term, seven diagnostic protocols for regulated pests and two standards to the List of Topics for IPPC Standards. The need for continued strong and effective cooperation with the Implementation and Capacity Development Committee (IC) was emphasized during discussions on the submitted topics and the current work programmes of both committees. The SC provided feedback and reviewed the evaluation of the surveillance pilot project, which will be presented to CPM-14 (2019).

The SC also welcomed the proposals from the Focus Group on Commodity and Pathway Standards, acknowledging possible adjustments in the standard setting process. They considered the proposed approach as an important step towards providing contracting parties with options for measures for managing pest risks of commodities and pathways.

The SC ended the meeting with a great enthusiasm for the new endeavors ahead and for the next meeting.

The final SC report will be posted at: https://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/standards-setting/standards-committee/

Photo: The IPPC Standards Committee (SC) discussing a draft standard at their November 2018 meeting.