16th Meeting of the Panel on PRA Development
Tallinn, EE, 2007-03-20/23
The 16th Meeting of the Panel on PRA Development met in Tallinn (EE) on 2007-03-20/23 at the kind invitation of Estonian NPPO.
The Panel recommended the preparation of a specific webpage on PRA in the EPPO website with links to standards, documents on useful links for PRA or tools for PRA, and PRAs performed. It was highlighted that national PRAs are very helpful and that countries should invest resources in this field. The Panel agreed to develop closer exchange of information with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Studies and tools for PRA such as the Dutch Project on PRA scoring tool, a system for cost-effective phytosanitary measures as well as a document on how to perform and read climatic prediction maps with CLIMEX were presented. The new computerized version of the scheme was highly appreciated by the Panel.
The Panel revised the version of the EPPO decision support scheme on PRA for quarantine pests which was adopted in 2006. Further work will be performed to add guidance for pathway initiated PRAs. The Panel considered that clarifications were needed for questions on the definition of the PRA area and for other questions, particularly in order to add guidance for plants. The organization and functioning of expert working groups to perform PRAs was discussed and several suggestions for improvement were made.
