A session on Xylella fastidiosa in the Euro-Mediterranean presented at the annual meeting of FAO Commission on Phytosanitary Measures
The 11th annual meeting of the FAO Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM), which serves as the governing body of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), was recently held at FAO headquarter in Rome.
The event brought together senior plant health specialists from 182 contracting parties as well as a number of other international organizations and the private sector, discussing on the theme chosen this year, “Plant Health for Food Security”.
CPM has, among its tasks the establishment of International Standards on Phytosanitary Measures that govern plant movement through global trade. The raising concern on bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which is thought to have arrived in the Mediterranean region through imported ornamental plants, led to establish a special session on ‘Xylella fastidiosa in the Euro-Mediterranean area’.
This side-event took place on 4th April and was opened by a keynote lecture given by Dr. Anna Maria D’Onghia, Head of the Division of Integrated Pest Management of Mediterranean Fruit and Vegetable Crops at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM-MAIB).
The speech, entitled ‘Xylella fastidiosa: state of the art in Italy and innovations for early surveillance and detection’, presented the status of Xylella fastidiosa emergency in Italy and innovations for its early surveillance and detection.
Dr. Martin Ward, Director General of European Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) illustrated the latest EPPO standards, with particular concern for those activities focused on Xylella fastidiosa control.
The last speech was given by Dr. Noureddine Nasr (FAO-SNE Plant Production and Protection Officer) and illustrated FAO preventive actions to the introduction and spread of OQDS and Xylella fastidiosa in Near East and North Africa (NENA) region.
Below you will find a video recording of the event, taken from the IPPC channel.
