IPPC Pest Outbreak Alert and Response System
4 June 2020, Lokichar, Kenya - Hopper bands of desert locust infesting a grazing area next to Lokichar, Turkana County, Kenya. An increasing number of second-generation immature swarms continue to form in northwest Kenya. © FAO/Luis Tato
Fostering Global Plant Health
The IPPC Strategic Framework 2020-2030 includes a specific Development Agenda Item (DAI) for Strengthening Pest Outbreak Alert and Response Systems (POARS), which gives the importance of effectively addressing pest outbreaks. By 2030, the IPPC community is expected to have a plant health emergency response system to facilitate timely action against new pest incursions and support countries with emergency response systems tools and knowledge. the importance of effectively addressing pest outbreaks. By 2030, the IPPC community is expected to have a plant health emergency response system to facilitate timely action against new pest incursions and support countries with emergency response systems tools and knowledge.
From the concept to actions
Initiated at CPM-14 in 2019, the development of an IPPC pest emergency system gained significant momentum, leading to the establishment of a dedicated CPM Focus Group on POARS (FG POARS) in 2020. This group, comprised of experts from around the world, studied existing POARS systems, identified challenges, and proposed recommendations presented to the CPM-16 in 2022.
To advance on the development of POARS, CPM-16 agreed to create an interim POARS Steering Group. This group comprises 11 experts from around the world, with outstanding subject matter expertise, and is tasked with finding solutions to make the system operational. This includes conceptualizing governance, technical development, networks and communications, and finances.
How will the IPPC community achieve this?
Making operational a global mechanism to address pests of global concern and improving the National Reporting Obligations (NROs) by:
- Evaluating and ranking emerging plant pests.
- Developing surveillance and response tools.
- Developing national pest reporting capacities, including the design of a horizon scanning system for collecting information.
- Establishing a system for communicating alerts.
- Developing a long-term plan to ensure sustainability.
The IPPC Secretariat has been increasing its experience in delivering simulation exercises, and paving the way for the establishment of networks and collaborations that will empower the POARS operationalization.
An integrated approach with global activities on specific pests
While planning and preparing for POARS, Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) (FAW) and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 (Fusarium TR4) have become pests of significant concern for the IPPC community. In response to these threats, the IPPC Secretariat, along with technical working groups, has been coordinating efforts to strengthen the capacities of the contracting parties to prevent, prepare for, and respond to them. The IPPC Secretariat has developed guidelines, delivered a series of webinars, and planning training on diagnostics, surveillance, and simulation exercises.