Preliminary pages

Since 2014, national and regional plant protection organizations and the International Plant Protection Convention, together with partners from the private sector, non-governmental organizations and the research community worked tirelessly to organize an International Year of Plant Health. The intention for the IYPH was to raise worldwide public awareness on important issues concerning plant health, in particular on how plant health contributes to food security, poverty reduction and the preservation of biodiversity. We wanted to show to the public and to politicians around the world how plant health contributes to the realization of the United Nations Development Agenda, and we endeavoured to demonstrate that plant health does not only concern agriculture, but is also interconnected with environmental degradation and climate change. Our aim was to establish an understanding around the world that plant health is as important for the environment and our livelihoods as human health is to the well-being of people.

In December 2019, the IYPH was launched, and the international plant health community was set to implement an ambitious programme to promote plant health. The appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, reshaped the International Year of Plant Health considerably, because travel restrictions, worldwide lockdowns and reduced physical interactions between people led to cancellations and postponements of in-person events such as trade fairs, seminars, meetings and conferences. The pandemic caused a reorientation of IYPH communication activities and channels and, for the first time ever, an international year was centred primarily on social and virtual media activities. The analytics presented in this report – that almost 500 million social media accounts had been reached and that potentially 4.4 billion readers have been accessed – are truly staggering and are an indicator of the success of these adjusted communication activities.

The IYPH was not only about communication and public awareness, it was also an opportunity to develop policies to set the tracks for addressing future challenges to plant health. The work undertaken in relation to climate change impacts on plant health will have effects on plant health policies for decades to come. The newly adopted IPPC Strategic Framework 2020–2030 identified for the first time a development agenda containing topics that should be addressed by the international plant health community in the next ten years. The promotion of plant health and its impact on sustainable food systems resulted in tangible contributions to United Nations work on food security.

The organization of an international year and the implementation of its work programme is a multi-year undertaking, which can only be achieved through cooperation with passionate and committed individuals. As the Chair of the IYPH International Steering Committee and the IYPH Technical Advisory Body, I have been lucky to be blessed with the cooperation of so many brilliant and enthusiastic professionals working together. They made the organisation of the IYPH a “walk in the park”. I would be remiss if I did not mention the determining role of FAO staff, in particular the staff of the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention, for the successful outcome of the IYPH. They have set the bar for excellence with their dedication and professionalism.

The International Year of Plant Health has been the foundation for intensifying international cooperation and national activities for improving plant health. National, regional and international plant health authorities and stakeholders must build on this foundation and create plant health policies and structures that address the challenges of the future. This report contains elements that may be of assistance when developing these policies and structures.

Ralf Lopian
Chair of the IYPH International Steering Committee