Regional voices, global impact: Tackling plant health challenges together

Rome, 30 September 2025. From creating innovative pest surveillance tools to developing strategies to address the risk of pest spread through international movements of sea containers, countries in seven regions implementing the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) demonstrated the importance of regional cooperation in strengthening global plant health systems.

From August to September, plant health professionals and stakeholders attending the annual 2025 IPPC Regional Workshops held in Africa (The Republic of the Congo), Asia (Republic of Korea), the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago), Europe and Central Asia (Türkiye), Latin America (Argentina), the Near East and North Africa (Oman) and the Pacific (Fiji), discussed key phytosanitary issues, deliberated on solutions to challenges and reviewed plant health standards development and implementation. “As the threats to plant health grow in scale and complexity, driven by climate change, expanding global trade and simply the emergence of new pest threats, regional dialogue, cooperation and action become more urgent than ever”, said Beth Bechdol, FAO Deputy Director-General, in her video message. “Your voices, your experience, and your regional insights will be instrumental to strengthening the global phytosanitary system that is inclusive, science-based and responsive to change”, she added.

Discussions on possible improvement of international plant health standards

Participants engaged in comprehensive discussions on the draft International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs), currently under consultation among contracting parties and regional plant protection organizations. These include standards on the international movement of fresh banana fruit (Musa spp.) and fresh taro for consumption, field inspection guidelines, remote audits and the establishment of fruit fly pest-free areas. Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America, among other regions, highlighted the importance of rethinking the ISPMs, making them more practical, transparent, comprehensible and adaptable to all contracting parties. Participants also called for improving the readability of ISPMs and for tailored support to match countries' different levels of implementation capacity.

Innovations driving plant health

Participants concurred on the need for innovation, research and development. At the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) workshop, the host country- Türkiye showcased its B-recipe system designed to build resilient plant health systems, with digital tools to promote biological pest control and QR code applications for monitoring and preventing harmful pesticides used in agriculture. To support countries in implementing ISPMs, the IPPC offers tools such as e-learning courses on topics like pest risk analysis, available through the IPPC Plant Health Campus. The Pacific workshop explored integrating some of these courses into the Pacific Plant Protection Organisation (PPPO)'s regional biosecurity, despite the limited capacity and resources. In Africa and the Near East and North Africa (NENA) regions, countries called for greater support in adopting the IPPC’s ePhyto Solution, to facilitate trade by replacing paper certificates with digital ones. Meanwhile, ECA countries called for training to help countries new to international plant trade to enhance their application of standards such as ISPM 15 which regulates use of raw wood packaging material used in international trade.

Regional strategies for stronger collaboration

Participants at the Asia region workshop discussed the development of a regional standard for phytosanitary measures to control the risk of pest spread through maritime shipping containers. Similarly, the Pacific region discussed its draft strategy to strengthen biosecurity in the region while the Caribbean stressed the importance of establishing guidelines to reduce global pest spread through the movement of sea containers.

The NENA workshop called for stronger collaboration among the 18 countries in the region, in managing transboundary plant pests and participation in the IPPC’s Strategic Planning Group. Participants also discussed the NENA Plant Health Strategy (2025-2053) and developing regional standards for certified propagation materials for key crops such as date palm and olive.

Across all workshops, participants concurred on the importance of such fora in strengthening the regional position, advocating for regional priorities in global plant health platforms such as the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM)- the IPPC’s main governing body and sharing knowledge and experiences. They urged stronger advocacy for plant health, with the IPPC Secretariat playing a key role at national, regional and global levels.

Look out for the 2025 IPPC Regional Workshops reports here, for details on recommendations.

Asia

Pacific

Near East and North Africa

Latin America

Europe and Central Asia

Caribbean

Africa