CABI and IPPC Technical Working Group meets in Rome

This past week, the Technical Working Group (TWG) between the IPPC Secretariat and CABI, including its Plantwise programme, met at FAO Headquarters in Rome to review the progress made since they convened last January to identify the areas of common interest and possible joint activities in the future. Given the different but complementary nature of IPPC and CABI activities, the TWG intends to explore how they can best synergize their respective missions while also improving understanding and building capacity amongst IPPC contracting parties and CABI member countries on areas of mutual interest. Discussions during the two-day meeting aimed to highlight potential actions and resources necessary to achieve these goals. The TWG also agreed to continue progress on ongoing projects such as harmonizing plant protection terminology, building necessary links between resources and information collected and managed by both teams, and continuing to develop material and tools valuable to their common goals. In looking ahead, both the IPPC Secretariat and CABI plan to review the joint activities on an annual basis, developing this collaboration to meet new plant protection challenges and priorities in the future.