13^th Meeting of the Panel on Invasive Alien Species

Kusadasi, TR, 2008-10-14/16

The 13th meeting of the Panel on Invasive Alien Species took place in Kusadasi (TR) on 2008-09-13/16 at the kind invitation of the Turkish NPPO. The Panel finalized the EPPO Guidelines on the development of a code of conduct on horticulture and invasive alien plants, and the Standard on National Regulatory Control Systems for Eichhornia crassipes. The Pest Risk Analyses for Heracleum sosnowskyi and H. persicum were also reviewed and adjusted. These documents will be presented to the next Working Party on Phytosanitary Regulations.

The experts also exchanged their experiences on testing the prioritization process for invasive alien plants which is currently being developed and improved. A brainstorming session was organized to gather feedback from the experts on priorities for the Panel. The experts strongly supported the view that current activities should continue, such as: performing Pest Risk Analyses, initiating pathway analyses, finalizing the prioritization process, organizing workshops on specific invasive alien plants, drafting National Regulatory Control Systems, and implementing the code of conduct on horticulture and invasive alien plants. They also highlighted the lack of awareness about invasive alien species, in particular among the general public, and the need to address this issue.

The Panel had the opportunity to make a field trip and to observe invasive alien plants. The next Panel meeting will be held in Oslo (NO) on 2009-06-02/04. A Workshop will take place on the 4th of June, in order to discuss the implementation of the code of conduct on horticulture and invasive alien plants with the nursery industry.