Australian Quarantine Review Secretariat Australian Quarantine a shared responsibility

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2 PLANTS

2.1 IPPC Standards for Phytosanitary Measures

The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is the key international organisation covering phytosanitary measures. In the import regulations section of the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures, draft standards have been prepared covering guidelines for pest risk analysis. The following section provides a summary of these drafts (IPPC 1995, IPPC in prep.).

Note that in IPPC usage, 'pest' is defined broadly as 'any species, strain or biotype of plant, animal or pathogenic agent injurious to plants or plant products' — equivalent to the use of 'pest and disease' in this Report. Similarly, IPPC uses the term 'pest risk analysis' as an alternative to import risk analysis.
IPPC defines three stages in pest risk analysis:
· initiating the process for analysing risk;
· assessing pest risk; and
· managing pest risk.
Initiating the process involves identifying the pests and pathways for which the analysis is needed. Pest risk assessment determines whether each pest identified, is a quarantine pest, characterised in terms of the likelihood of entry, establishment, spread and economic importance. The area for which the analysis applies is usually a country, but it can also be an area within a country or an area covering all or parts of several countries.

2.2 Initiating the Pest Risk Analysis Process

Initiation points for a pest risk analysis are generally the identification of a pathway (usually an imported commodity) and the identification of a pest that may qualify as a quarantine pest. The identification of a pathway will most frequently arise when international trade is initiated in a new commodity or from a new region. Other situations that are likely to force a new risk analysis include:

· imports for research;
· identification of a new pathway (e.g. mail, garbage, tourism);
· a decision to revise current arrangements is made; and
· a new process or new information that affects a previous decision.
If no potential quarantine pests are identified as likely to follow the pathway, the risk analysis stops at this point.
The requirement for a new risk analysis may also originate from considerations related to a specific pest. A number of reasons might necessitate this, including:
· the discovery of an established infestation;
· identification of a new pest;
· spread of a pest to an area previously free of the pest;
· reports that a pest is more damaging than previously thought;
· receipt of a request to import a pest (e.g. by university researchers); and
· demonstration in audit of imports that a particular pest is being continually intercepted.

2.3 Pest Risk Assessment

After the pests have been identified, they should then be examined according to whether or not they satisfy criteria for a quarantine pest. This involves assessing whether a pest is of potential economic importance to the area under potential threat, or is present but not widely distributed there and is being officially controlled. An endangered area has ecological factors that favour the establishment of a pest that if present in the area would result in an economically important loss. The risk analysis considers all aspects of the pest, including information about its geographical distribution, biology and direct economic importance. Of course, assessments may be limited by the amount of information about each pest.

2.4 Geographical and Regulatory Criteria

If the pest is present in the threatened area and has reached its ecological limit, then the risk analysis stops. However, if it is present but has not yet reached its limit, and is under official control, the analysis continues. If the pest is not under official control, it does not meet the criteria of a quarantine pest.

2.5 Economic Importance Criteria

Under these criteria, the risk of a pest (having entered) becoming established and spreading must be characterised. In looking at the establishment potential the following should be considered:

· availability, quantity and distribution of hosts;
· environmental suitability;
· potential for adaptation of the pest;
· reproductive strategy of the pest; and
· method of pest survival.
The potential spread of the pest after establishment should be estimated on receipt of biological information from an area where the pest already occurs. Factors that can be taken into account are:
· suitability of the natural or managed environment for natural spread;
· movement with commodities or conveyances;
· intended use of the commodity;
· potential vectors of the pest; and
· potential natural enemies of the pest.
To determine whether the pest is of potential economic importance in the area, factors that can be considered are:
· type of damage;
· crop losses;
· loss of export markets;
· increases in control costs;
· effects of current pest management programs;
· environmental damage;
· capacity to act as a vector for other pests; and
· perceived social costs such as unemployment.

2.6 Introduction Potential

The introduction potential depends on the pathways from the exporting country to the destination, and the frequency and quantity of pests associated with them. Factors that may affect entry include:

· opportunity for contamination;
· survival of pests during transport;
· the ease of detecting the pest on arrival;

· the frequency and quantity of the pest moving in by natural means; and

· the frequency and number of people entering the country from another country.
Establishment factors include:
· the number and frequency of consignments of the product;
· the number of individuals of a given pest associated with the means of conveyance;
· the intended use of the commodity; and
· environmental conditions and availability of hosts in the threatened area.

2.7 Pest Risk Management

The IPPC Reference Standard defines 16 principles of plant quarantine as related to international trade, and considers the first six as 'general' principles and the remainder as 'specific' (IPPC 1995). The general principles 'should be read as a single entity and not interpreted individually' and the specific principles 'either support the IPPC or are related to particular procedures within the plant quarantine system'. The IPPC's principles are:

· Sovereignty
'With the aim of preventing the introduction of quarantine pests into their territories, it is recognised that countries may exercise the sovereign right to utilise phytosanitary measures to regulate the entry of plants and plant products and other materials capable of harbouring plant pests'.
· Necessity
'Countries shall institute restrictive measures only where such measures are made necessary by phytosanitary considerations, to prevent the introduction of quarantine pests'.
· Minimal impact
'Phytosanitary measures shall be consistent with the pest risk involved, and shall represent the least restrictive measures available which result in the minimum impediment to the international movement of people, commodities and conveyances'.
· Modification
'As conditions change, and as new facts become available, phytosanitary measures shall be modified promptly, either by inclusion of prohibitions, restrictions or requirements necessary for their success, or by removal of those found to be unnecessary'.
· Transparency
'Countries shall publish and disseminate phytosanitary prohibitions, restrictions and requirements and, on request, make available the rationale for such measures'.
· Harmonisation
'Phytosanitary measures shall be based, whenever possible, on international standards, guidelines and recommendations, developed within the framework of the IPPC'.
· Equivalence
'Countries shall recognise as being equivalent those phytosanitary measures that are not identical but which have the same effect'.
· Dispute settlement
'It is preferable that any dispute between two countries regarding phytosanitary measures be resolved at a technical bilateral level. If such a solution cannot be achieved within a reasonable period of time, further action may be undertaken by means of a multilateral settlement system'.
· Cooperation
'Countries shall cooperate to prevent the spread and introduction of quarantine pests, and to promote measures for their official control'.
· Technical authority
'Countries shall provide an official Plant Protection Organization'.
· Risk analysis
'To determine which pests are quarantine pests and the strength of the measures to be taken against them, countries shall use pest risk analysis methods based on biological and economic evidence and, wherever possible, follow procedures developed within the framework of the IPPC'.
· Managed risk
'Because some risk of the introduction of a quarantine pest always exists, countries shall agree to a policy of risk management when formulating phytosanitary measures'.
· Pest-free areas
'Countries shall recognise the status of areas in which a specific pest does not occur. On request, the countries in whose territories the pest-free areas lie shall demonstrate this status based, where available, on procedures developed within the framework of the IPPC'.
· Emergency action
'Countries may, in the face of a new and/or unexpected phytosanitary situation, take immediate emergency measures on the basis of a preliminary pest risk analysis. Such emergency measures shall be temporary in their application, and their validity will be subjected to a detailed pest risk analysis as soon as possible'.
· Notification of non-compliance
'Importing countries shall promptly inform exporting countries of any non-compliance with phytosanitary prohibitions, restrictions or requirements.'
· Non-discrimination
'Phytosanitary measures shall be applied without discrimination between countries of the same phytosanitary status, if such countries can demonstrate that they apply identical or equivalent phytosanitary measures in pest management. In the case of a quarantine pest within a country, measures shall be applied without discrimination between domestic and imported consignments'.
Pest risk management should be proportional to the risk identified in the pest risk assessment. A list of options for reducing risks should be assembled. Examples of factors to be considered are:
· inclusion of pests in lists of prohibited pests;
· phytosanitary inspection and certification before export;
· definition of requirements to be satisfied before export;
· inspection at entry;
· treatment at point of entry, inspection station or, if appropriate, at place of destination;
· detention in post-entry quarantine;
· post-entry measures (restrictions on use of commodity, control measures); and
· prohibition of entry of specific commodities from specific areas.
The efficacy and impacts of various options in reducing risks to an acceptable level should be evaluated by considering factors such as:
· biological effectiveness;
· cost–benefit of the proposed import;
· impact on existing regulations;
· commercial impact;
· social impact;
· phytosanitary policy considerations;
· time taken to implement a new regulation;
· efficacy of option against other quarantinable pests; and
· effect on the natural environment.
Both positive and negative aspects of the options should be specified taking into account that phytosanitary measures shall be consistent with the pest risk involved, and should represent the least restrictive measures available that result in the minimum impediment to the international movement of people, commodities and conveyances.
A pest risk analysis should clearly document the sources of information and the rationale used in reaching its recommended phytosanitary measures. Such documentation is essential in the event of any dispute arising.

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