The five partners in the Cargo Integrity Group, known as CIG, recognise the vital importance of focusing on the threat of invasive pests to natural resources across the world, and of the urgency in crafting risk reduction measures that address the situation. As such, the Cargo Integrity Group is calling for urgent action from actors in global supply chains to reduce the risk of pest transference through international cargo movements.
This call to action follows the intentions by pest control experts under the auspices of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), to take all-encompassing, internationally imposed steps to mitigate such risks. One measure under serious consideration is the mandatory certification of cleanliness for all containers prior to loading on board a ship, a measure that would have significant impact on global trade when it comes to both time and cost.
We know that more serious risks occur among certain types of goods and from identified regions. The CIG recommendation centres on the need to provide proper risk assessments in defined trades and focus mandatory measures on these high-risk areas and cargoes.
…Lars Kjaer, Senior Vice President of the World Shipping Council (WSC) explains.
The serious issue of the transfer of invasive pests between different natural ecosystems is very much a part of this commitment. It is also crucial that the development of any such controls is undertaken in full consultation with other appropriate bodies, in particular the international agencies responsible for the governance of world trade and for the regulation of different modes of transport, as well as supply chain stakeholders and industry practitioners.
READ THE STATEMENT BY THE CARGO INTEGRITY GROUP HERE
#1 The IPPC is an international convention, signed by over 180 countries and governed by the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures, part of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Agreed amendments to the convention are enforceable by all national governments which are signatories.
#2 The five organisations co-operating in the Cargo integrity Group are:
- Container Owners Association (COA)
- Global Shippers Forum (GSF)
- International Cargo Handling Co-ordination Association (ICHCA International)
- TT Club
- World Shipping Council (WSC)
