The second meeting of the Steering Committee of the International Year of Plant Health held in Rome

Opening of the second IYPH Steering Committee meeting © IPPC Secretariat

16 September 2019, Rome - The International Steering Committee of the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH-ISC) met on 16 September 2019 in Rome to discuss IYPH preparations. The meeting was chaired by Mr Ralf LOPIAN, the Chairperson of IYPH- ISC (Finland). Participants included 11 members representing FAO regions and partner organizations and 4 observers from FAO Regional Offices. Representatives of the IYPH Secretariat also attended and supported the meeting, which is composed of the FAO Partnerships Division (PSP), the Plant Production and Protection Division (AGP) and the IPPC Secretariat with support from OCC.

Mr Jingyuan XIA, the IPPC Secretary, chaired the opening session of the meeting, and updated to participants the composition of the IYPH-ISC, as well as the IPPC Secretariat. He also highlighted the importance of the IYPH, an initiative championed by the IPPC for the past five years, which has brought together FAO and a wide range of partners to promote plant health globally.

Mr Bukar TIJANI, the FAO Assistant Director General of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection welcomed participants and opened the meeting. He highlighted the importance of the IYPH for FAO and for raising awareness of plant health globally. He expressed his appreciation for the results of the IYPH technical advisory board and the ISC’s work. He welcomed the UNGA Resolution establishing IYPH as a key occasion to raise awareness of what plant health is, stressed that plant health is linked to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and that it is important for human, animal and aquatic life.

Ms Marcela VILLARREAL, Director of the PSP Division, welcomed participants, and highlighted the importance to hold solid preparations because International Years pass very quickly. She underlined the need for strong reflection on what the impact of the IYPH should be and what change it should bring about. She mentioned the change that IYPH should have on developing national policies on plant health, and recalled the importance to involve respective regional groups and constituencies to ensure a successful international year. She concluded that the IYPH is a global event, but needs to be brought down to the regional and national level for change to happen.

Mr Hans DREYER, Director of the AGP Division, welcomed participants and pointed out the importance of including all key stakeholders in the IYPH implementation. He recalled that UN Member States requested that FAO, in collaboration with the IPPC, facilitate the implementation of the Year. He noted that the IYPH provides a unique opportunity to communicate to a wider public that ‘’Plant Health’’ is something that cannot be taken for granted and that important technical, financial and policy/regulatory efforts and investments are needed to achieve ‘’Plant Health’’. IYPH ISC members discussed next steps for implementing the IYPH and agreed on action points to be taken up by the IYPH Secretariat and all other stakeholders involved.

It was confirmed that a two-euro coin with the IYPH logo will be issued thanks to the effort of the national plant protection organization of Belgium, and the Royal Belgian Mint house as responsible emitter/issuer. The coins will be struck in 2020 in collaboration with the Royal Dutch Mint house. The IYPH ISC also requested that IYPH launch events be held at FAO headquarters in Rome on 2 December 2019, and in New York in the first week of December. The third meeting of the ISC will take place on 11 October 2019 in Rome.

More information on the IYPH can be found at www.fao.org/plant-health-2020.

The meeting report will soon be available at https://www.ippc.int/en/iyph/iyph-international-steering-committee/