2454 final report.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

Evaluation of the Community Plant Health Regime: Final Report
DG SANCO Evaluation Framework Contract Lot 3 (Food Chain)
FVO 141 . In addition, the NPPO and sometimes even the operator do not know what the final
destination of the products is at the time of the inspection.
3.6.3 Need for alternative forms of regionalisation
3.6.3.1 International standards on Pest Free Areas (PFAs)
Following Article 6 of the WTO-SPS Agreement 142 , the IPPC‘s Committee on Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures has recognised that ―regionalisation is an increasingly important factor
in trade among all members and it can be applied regardless of a country‟s size or level of
development‖ 143 and has accepted that measures applied to regional conditions can be adapted to
smaller ecosystems, part of a country, all of a country, or all parts of several countries through
the Pest Free Area (PFA) concept.
ISPM No.4 144 is a standard which describes the requirements for the establishment and use of
PFAs 145 as a risk management option for phytosanitary certification of plants and plant products
and other regulated articles exported from the PFA, or to support the scientific justification for
phytosanitary measures taken by an importing country for protection of an endangered PFA.
The establishment and use of a PFA by an NPPO provides for the export of plants, plant products
and other regulated articles from the country in which the area is situated (exporting country) to
another country (importing country) without the need for application of additional phytosanitary
measures when certain requirements are met. Thus, the pest free status of an area may be used as
the basis for the phytosanitary certification of plants, plant products and other regulated articles
with respect to the stated pest(s) for export from the PFA.
Although the term "PFA" encompasses a whole range of types (from an entire country which is
pest free to a small area which is pest free but situated in a country where that pest is prevalent),
the requirements of PFAs are discussed in reference to three types (in each of these cases, the
PFA may, as appropriate, concern all or part of several countries 146 ):
141 FVO Report – DG SANCO/8003/2005 Overview report of the results of a series of missions carried out in
Member States in order to evaluate the implementation of the plant passport system
142 Article 6 of the WTO-SPS Agreement is entitled ―Adaptation to regional conditions, including pest or diseasefree
areas and areas of low pest or disease prevalence‖: It foresees that ―Members shall, in particular, recognize the
concepts of pest — or disease-free areas and areas of low pest or disease prevalence. Determination of such areas
shall be based on factors such as geography, ecosystems, epidemiological surveillance, and the effectiveness of
sanitary or phytosanitary controls‖.
143 WTO proposal G/SPS/W/140/Rev.2 (2004) Draft decision on the implementation of Article 6 of the agreement
on the applications of sanitary and phytosanitary measures
144 ISPM No. 4 - Requirements for the establishment of pest free areas (1995).
145 According to IPPC, a "pest free area" is: "an area in which a specific pest does not occur as demonstrated by
scientific evidence and in which, where appropriate, this condition is being officially maintained".
146 In addition, there is the concept of ‗pest-free place of production‘, which can be individual business operators
rather than an area (as defined in ISPM 10).
Food Chain Evaluation Consortium 133