Plant Health, Climate Change and Trade - TradeMark Southern Africa

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9 undertake such tasks. The FAO has proposed building regional early warning systems as an alternative to inadequate national systems. Many countries have insufficient resources, and lack appropriate regulatory frameworks and adequate phytosanitary capacities to apply control measures at production level, conduct risk assessment, surveillance and monitoring, border control and inspections, and provide diagnostic services and effective information management. These challenges are likely to increase as climate change intensify the demands for improved phytosanitary management at national, regional and global level. 6. Adaptation strategies to address the impact of climate change on phytosanitary systems Several initiatives to develop adaptation strategies to address the impact of climate change on agriculture exist such as the Climate for Development in Africa Programme (ClimDev). In 2008 the German Government funded another research programme focused on "Adaptation of African agriculture to climate change". Five international research institutes (i.e. the International Potato Centre (CIP), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI)), two German universities and a German research centre are involved in this programme that aims at building local capacity and using local knowledge through active involvement of non-governmental organizations, farmer associations and national agricultural research centres. However, many of these initiatives do not specifically relate to phytosanitary risks and special attention should be paid to integrate these risks in the development of climate change adaptation strategies. Wellintegrated adaptation strategies requires effective performing institutions and interinstitutional cooperation, especially where overlapping mandates of government entities may lead to conflicts and slow responses. The EU released a White Paper on the Adaption to Climate Change in 2009 that sets out a framework to enhance EU resilience to the impacts of climate change and was supported by working documents to highlight five key priority actions in the areas of human, animal and plant health. In North America several programmes address the impact of climate change on phytosanitary risks but no comprehensive framework exists. In Australia such research is done through the Australian Bio-security Cooperative Research Centre that reflects the ''one health'' concept. To assist developing countries in formulating policies to adapt to climate change in different fields, three funds have been set up: (i) the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF); (ii) the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); and (iii) the Adaptation Fund (AF) under the Kyoto Protocol. Another potential funding scheme to develop National Adaptation Action Plans (NAPA's) is the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund's Strategic Priority for Adaptation (SPA). Agriculture is one of the priority areas in the development of NAPA's but little attention has so far been paid to include adaptation strategies specifically for emerging phytosanitary risks. COP 17 -‐ Trademark Climate change impact on phytosanitary risks
10 The following adaptive phytosanitary strategies are proposed as technical and policy responses to climate change for the Tripartite Region: 6.1. Strengthening national phytosanitary systems Climate change will bring new challenges in phytosanitary risk management that will require competent phytosanitary authorities and coherent regulatory frameworks. Policy options that bridge the gap between pure scientific knowledge and practical solutions will be key to effective adaptation strategies. Core capacity building in risk analysis, monitoring and surveillance, diagnostic services and rapid diagnostic tools, inspections and border control, emergency preparedness and response will be crucial in enabling developing countries to effectively manage new phytosanitary risks that may occur as a result of climate change. Improving access to international pest data bases and development of regional information exchange mechanisms that include distribution of pests and diseases and correlated ecological conditions including climate will assist in risk assessment, surveillance and control activities. 6.2. Improving early warning systems Develop and ensure effective use of pest-monitoring and rapid response plans, participatory investigation, interception techniques, new screening technologies, forecasting and early warning networks. Surveillance monitors various aspects such as epidemiological, ecological and economic data to verify emergence of new markets, new trade channels, trade volumes and types of commodities. Risk-based surveillance in areas and places where pest introduction potential is high, such as ports of entry, will provide a focused means of early detection and thereby save resources. Developing and improving information networks for early warning systems is crucial and may be more cost-effective when done at a regional level whilst building on those of existing specialist institutions. The development of a notifications database of new pest outbreaks and interceptions in the region can be useful tools in developing early warning systems and informing risk management decisions. Open-source information that is provided in real-time is therefore needed to strengthen national and regional data and allow decision makers additional time for planning and appropriate response actions. Developing early warning expertise and training of field workers on aspects such as sampling and trapping techniques and identification of exotic pests is required. 6.3. Strengthening research Climate change may have positive, negative or no impact on individual plant pests and diseases. A better understanding of the ecology of pests and their hosts, the correlations between them, and climate and impact modelling is necessary to predict the potential COP 17 -‐ Trademark Climate change impact on phytosanitary risks
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