The EPPO decision-support scheme for pest risk analysis and invasive alien plants
Sarah Brunel and Françoise Petter, EPPO/OEPP, 1, rue le Nôtre, 75016 Paris, France.
Summary
The European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) is an intergovernmental organization responsible for cooperation in plant protection in the European and Mediterranean region. It has 50 member countries. Since 2005, it is in charge of performing Pest Risk Analyses at a regional scale. As invasive alien plants threatening the environment may qualify as quarantine pests, they are assessed through the EPPO decision scheme for pest risk analysis of quarantine pests. This scheme has been developed in accordance with International Standard on Phytosanitary Measures No. 11 'Pest risk analysis for quarantine pests including analysis of environmental risks and living modified organisms'. It is composed of three sections: initiation, pest risk assessment, and pest risk management.
The initiation part aims at identifying whether the organism has the characteristics of a quarantine pest; in this case the organism is then evaluated in greater detail in the pest risk assessment section. This section considers the potential of introduction of the organism (i.e. entry, establishment, spread and invasive behaviour (assessed through impacts)). If this assessment concludes that the organism represents an unacceptable risk, the pest risk management part will identify measures to prevent entry, establishment, or spread of the pest.
The EPPO scheme is described using examples of invasive alien plants.
Keywords: Pest risk analysis (PRA), invasive alien plants, plant health.
Plant Protection Quarterly (2010) 25 (2) 42-48.