Successful Completion of the 2017 IPPC Regional Workshops

The IPPC Secretariat and newly established regional committees comprised of Regional Plant Protection Organizations (RPPOs), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) regional offices, cooperation institutions and national hosts successfully organized seven IPPC regional workshops for 2017. The IPPC workshops were held in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Near East and North Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Southwest Pacific and the Caribbean. The purpose of the IPPC regional workshops are to sensitise participants on how to analyse draft ISPMs and formulate substantive comments, to build phytosanitary capacity and raise awareness of IPPC-related activities for the year, and finally, for participants to exchange experiences at the regional level.

Overall, 2017 marked the year that regional workshops were developed with greater collaboration with regional partners and cooperating organizations. The IPPC Secretariat, the TC-RPPO, and the CDC jointly developed the agenda of this year s series of workshops. Co-organizers were also active this year in presenting their activities to workshop participants. Topics presented ranged from capacity building activities of the regions respective RPPOs, FAO capacity development activities, pest control and management activities by Contracting Parties, and updates from regional cooperating organizations. In summary, a total of 206 participants from 117 Contracting Parties benefited from the 2017 IPPC regional workshops.

Analysis of the workshops revealed an overall high satisfaction with the content and delivery of the workshops. Participants considered the presentations on the activities of the IPPC and on the FAO projects in the region informative and valuable. In addition, they found the networking, exchange of ideas, and discussion sessions particularly relevant and beneficial. Several suggestions have been made by participants towards improving the next series of workshops for 2018, e.g. additional time to suitably accommodate the content for future workshops; more time dedicated to information sharing on topics of regional importance; and the inclusion of practical exercises, including interactive sessions.

Participants from the Caribbean Region remarked that the workshop was one of the better meetings where the exchange of ideas was the norm. Participants also gave positive commentary regarding the quality of the resource materials provided and the effectiveness and clarity of the workshop presentations.

The 2018 IPPC regional workshops are currently being planned, and you can check for updates on the IPPC Calendar. The IPPC Secretariat would like to express its gratitude and thanks for the kind support from numerous organizations who served as active collaborators in organizing and delivering the 2017 IPPC regional workshops. The IPPC Secretariat would also like to acknowledge and thank co-organizers for their valuable financial support towards making these workshops a success. Finally, the IPPC Secretariat commends workshop participants for their engagement and contributions towards the IPPC workshops for 2017. Reports from the 2017 Regional Workshops and past IPPC regional workshops can be found here.