CPM Bureau meets virtually for the third time since beginning of global pandemic to decisively advance IPPC work plan

Rome, 5 June 2020. The CPM Bureau held its third virtual meeting since the beginning of the global sanitary crisis to continue providing the IPPC community with guidance and governance, in cooperation with the IPPC Secretariat. The meeting was opened by IPPC Secretary Jingyuan Xia, chaired by CPM chairperson Javier Trujillo, and attended by six out of the seven Bureau members with John Greifer (Bureau alternate for the North American Region) attending as an observer, as well all Core Team Members (CTMs) of the IPPC Secretariat.

In his opening remarks, IPPC Secretary XIA, addressed CPM Bureau members on the importance of meeting regularly during the current pandemic as the IPPC community continues facing challenges that have arisen from the necessary preventive measures applied by IPPC Contracting Parties (CPs) to prevent the virus from spreading. He further pointed out that global lockdown has had very different impacts as each country faces its own challenges in ensuring safety while safeguarding its production system. He was very pleased to announce that the Republic of Zambia has express their strong willing to champion the establishment of an International Day of Plant Health (IDPH).

The CPM Bureau discussed the matters at hand, namely the ongoing coordination to provide an effective and accepted decision-making framework in absence of a regular session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM), which should have been held in March 2020. Each CPM Bureau member shared updates regarding each constituency and reported general support towards establishing an emergency decision-making process, provided that the flow of information continues as is. The second focus of the two-hour session saw the engagement of the CPM Bureau on matters related to resource mobilization, particularly after cancellation of face-to-face meetings where CPs pledge financial resources to guarantee the sustainability of IPPC activities also in the long run.

The CPM Bureau also discussed the establishment of the International Day of Plant Health, and selected May 12 each year as the proposed date.

Finally, the CPM Bureau agreed to contribute to a virtual briefing of NPPOs, which will take place by the end of June, and to promote the IPPC community’s views in the process leading up to the adoption of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. The Bureau welcomed Canada’s offer to lead the process with declared support from China and called on other countries and regions to sustain the IPPC community’s efforts, contribution and interest towards addressing invasive alien species as plant pests.

The CPM Bureau report will soon be available at https://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/governance/bureau/