UN IPPC to kick off in Incheon next month

INCHEON -- The 12th International Plant Protection Convention will take place at the Songdo Convensia in Incheon from April 5-11, organizers said Sunday.

The IPPC is a multilateral treaty for international cooperation in plant protection, overseen by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

The annual convention makes provisions for measures by governments to protect their plants from harmful pests that may be introduced through international trade, according to the IPPC.

“Hosting the IPPC is meaningful because the UN organization is in the plant sector, different from organizations that have been operating in Songdo,” said Yu Ji-sang, a director general of Incheon Metropolitan City’s culture, tourism and sports bureau,

The upcoming convention is the first meeting to be held in a member country other than Italy, where the headquarters is based in Rome, an Incheon City official said. 

Some 300 participants, including representatives from about 100 nations that are in charge of plant inspection are expected to be present.

Incheon City said that participants at the convention would set the IPPC’s agenda for the next four years, adding that the UN has set 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health.

Sessions scheduled during the weeklong convention, will include updates on activities in member countries, and enacting or revising international standards for plant inspection, organizers said.

Discussions on ways to foster agricultural trade, development of the plant protection committee in the Asia-Pacific region and Korea’s history on plant inspection will also take place.

Incheon City plans to provide tour buses, language guides and other assistance for the convention.

An English tour will be offered at the public relations office in the Incheon Free Economic Zone on holidays and a welcome desk will be set up with tourist information, Incheon City said.

The IPPC is a 1951 treaty that is currently joined by 183 nations.

South Korea became a member in 1953 and the first Asian country to produce a chairperson of IPPC in 2014.

By Kim Bo-gyung and Lee Hong-seok  (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com) (gilbert@heraldcorp.com)