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  • 1. Introduction to Risk Analysis
  • 2. Terminology and Uncertainty in Pest Risk Analysis
  • 3. Types of Pest Risk Analyses
• Topics
  • 1. What is Risk Analysis?
  • 2. Introduction to Pest Risk Analysis
  • 3. PRA and the SPS Agreement
  • 4. The Roles of the IPPC, RPPOs and NPPOs in Protecting Plant Health
  • 5. Lesson Summary
  • 6. Lesson Assessment
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  • Glossary
  • Acknowledgements

Lesson 1: Introduction to Risk Analysis

Topic 4: The Roles of the IPPC, RPPOs and NPPOs in Protecting Plant Health

Earlier, you learned that:

• The IPPC is identified in the SPS Agreement as the standard setting body for plant health
• The purpose of the IPPC is to protect plant resources from the introduction and spread of pests
• The IPPC encourages international cooperation in preventing the spread of pests
• Although the IPPC clearly makes provisions for international trade, it is primarily a plant protection agreement
• The scope of the IPPC applies to all plants, both wild and cultivated, and includes everything from forests and agricultural crops to anything that is capable of introducing and spreading pests
• Under the IPPC, the term pest refers to any organism that is injurious to plants or plant health; this includes plant pathogens (fungi, viruses, bacteria, and nematodes), arthropods (insects and mites), other types of invertebrates (mollusks), and weeds

Information Exchange

The IPPC has several provisions related to the exchange of information (FAO, 1997). Article IV (General provisions relating to the organizational arrangements for national plant protection) and Article VII (Requirements in relation to imports) outline requirements for provision of information on pest status, surveillance, and a country’s regulated pests. Article VIII (FAO, 1997) is explicit regarding requirements for information exchange.

Official Contact Point

This requirement under the IPPC means that every country should have a single point of contact responsible for providing official information for their country. Official information comes from the NPPO and is different from scientific and other types of evidence considered in a PRA. Official information is provided by the NPPO, through the official contact point, to other NPPOs, but also to relevant international or regional organizations.

Types of Official Information

Specific articles in the IPPC (FAO, 1997) identify the information that countries are required to provide to other contracting parties:

• Description of the NPPO—Article IV.4
• Legislation—Article VII.2b
• Entry points—Article VII.2d
• List of regulated pests—Article VII.2i
• Emergency actions—Article VII.6
• Official pest report—Article VIII.1a
• IPPC Official Contact Point—Article VIII.2

Role of Official Information

Official information is important for pest risk analysis. One of the primary questions addressed in PRA is the presence or absence of a pest in an area (pest status). Official surveillance (conducted by the NPPO) provides the basis for determining pest status in a country. NPPOs should also determine which pests are considered regulated and provide the information to trading partners, particularly for the purposes of pest risk analysis.

Other official information may play a role in pest risk analysis, including quarantines, the declaration of pest-free areas or areas of low pest-prevalence, and information on any official programs an NPPO has in place to manage, contain, or eradicate pests. Scientific and other technical information may also be included in official information. The table below provides some examples of scientific and technical information that may be included in PRA.

Types of Information Needed According to Subject

ISPMs Related to Information Exchange

Given the importance of information and evidence, it is not surprising that specific international standards address information and the exchange of information between NPPOs. ISPM No. 1 (Phytosanitary principles for the protection of plants and the application of phytosanitary measures in international trade) discusses information under the basic principles of transparency, technical justification, and cooperation, and under the specific principles of pest risk analysis, pest reporting, and information exchange (FAO, 1997).

Pest status is the subject of its own standard, ISPM No. 8 (Determination of pest status in an area). The standard describes how countries should list pests that occur (or do not occur) in their territories. The status of a pest in an area will determine whether a pest is considered a quarantine pest and whether it should be considered in a pest risk analysis.

Regional Organizations for Plant Protection

Recall from earlier modules that the IPPC recognizes several regional plant protection organizations (RPPOs). RPPOs are intergovernmental organizations that function as regional coordinating bodies for National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs). The functions of RPPOs are included in the text of the IPPC (1997). Each RPPO has its own programs and activities, and many develop their own regional standards for phytosanitary measures (or RSPMs). These RSPMs apply only to countries that are members of the RPPO. Several RPPOs have developed guidance on aspects of PRA in the form of RSPMs. Some of these predate the first IPPC standards on PRA and were used in the development of ISPM No. 2. Other RSPMs on PRA came later and are based on ISPM No. 2.

National Plant Protection Organizations

Recall from earlier modules that National plant protection organizations (NPPOs) are charged with identifying, analyzing, and managing phytosanitary risks for their country as framed by the IPPC and the SPS Agreement. NPPOs share the need for cross-border commerce, recognizing that there are inherent risks that they should identify, understand, and manage without being unnecessarily restrictive to their trading partners who are in the same position.

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