January 2013: The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) has released the report of the first meeting of the IPPC Capacity Development Committee (CDC) and an updated version of the IPPC National Phytosanitary Capacity Development Strategy.

The report summarizes discussions and decisions of the CDC’s inaugural meeting, held 3-7 December 2012 in Rome, Italy, which include: work plan and strategies; capacity development activities; creation of new proposals; and information and decisions. On capacity development, the group discussed, among other projects, the creation of phytosanitary manuals, standard operating procedures and training kits, including on pest risk analysis, dielectric heating and surveillance, training of phytosanitary capacity evaluation facilitators and the training of trainers for capacity development.

Regarding the work plan, the CDC agreed, inter alia, to review the capacity building strategy midway through the IPPC’s long-term planning cycle in 2016. The discussion on information and decisions focused on the phytosanitary technical resources page and a compilation of technical resources.

The IPPC also released an updated version of its Capacity Development Strategy, including a logical framework and work plan. [Report of the 1st Meeting of the IPPC Capacity Development Committee][Publication: IPPC National Phytosanitary Capacity Development Strategy][Phytosanitary Technical Resources Page][Biodiversity Policy & Practice news post on first meeting]