Phytosanitary Decision-Support System Help

Crop Protection Compendium Pest Risk Analysis

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Contents

Introduction
Stage 1a - PRA initiation
Stage 1b - Identifying potential quarantine pests
Stage 2 - Risk assessment
Stage 3 - Risk management

Start a new or select a previous PRA session
Key to PRA pest lists
Add pest
Reports
Regulated pest list
Notes on the search criteria
User data
Feedback to CABI

Introduction

This system aims to provide a framework in which the risks associated with the importation of plant commodities and the introduction of pests into new areas can be identified and assessed. It does not generate conclusions, but presents scientific information to aid the selection of appropriate measures for reducing risk and facilitating the movement of plants and plant products.

This process is known as pest risk analysis (PRA) and comprises three stages:

Stage 1. Initiation - identifying the reason for the PRA and the pest(s) of concern to the PRA area;

Stage 2. Risk assessment - determining the likelihood of entry, establishment, spread and economic damage of an individual pest in order to determine whether it meets the criteria of a regulated pest;

Stage 3. Risk management - selecting the appropriate management options to reduce the risks identified in Stage 2.

Users should be familiar with the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). These documents are available from Phytosanitary Resources (dated June 2002) or, for more recent updates, from the website of the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC).

The main features of the system include:

A procedure for PRA. This can be completed in stages and by other users sharing the same account.
Searches of the Compendium databases to generate a list of pests associated with a commodity pathway.
Facilities to add new information or overrule existing Compendium data.
Options for adding and editing your own lists of regulated pests.
Exporting PRA reports.
Links to useful texts on phytosanitary topics.

Start a new or select a previous PRA session

This screen allows you to create a new session and shows you the list of previous PRA sessions. Open a previous session (for further editing, completion or to view details) by clicking on its title link. Delete unwanted sessions by clicking .

When you open a previous session the pest lists will be generated again to incorporate the latest user modifications (pest records may have been modified in other sessions or by other users if installed on a network). To keep an exact record of a session at any time, the completed sections can be generated into a Report.

Stage 1a - PRA Initiation

The details of the PRA pathway are entered in this screen. The components are used for searching the Compendium data sets and any relevant data added by the user(s) in previous sessions.

Highlight all Commodity types of the crop that make up your consignment (e.g. tomatoes could comprise fruits, fruits plus flowers (calyx), or fruits plus flowers plus stems (on the vine)). If none are selected, the system will ignore this criterion and look only for pests on the crop host.

Click on to initiate the searches and continue to the next stage. After proceeding it is no longer possible to edit the profile for the session. If a change is required you will need to start a new session. Any user modifications to the pest data that were made in the original session will be incorporated in the next session.

Notes on the search criteria

Countries	Although it is possible to enter some states or provinces as exporting or importing "countries", you should be aware that some pests have only been recorded at the country level in the Compendium and so a second PRA using the countries concerned would be advisable to check for differences in the pest lists. There are options to select or unselect the mainland and detached parts of certain countries (e.g. mainland USA, Alaska and Hawaii).
Crops	The system searches for pests that are recorded in the Compendium on the crop specified in PRA Initiation. The crop selection box also includes the option to include pests recorded on higher taxa and not at the species level. This may help to pick up some polyphagous pests - further checking to make sure the pest attacks the crop concerned will be required. As an alternative, the diagnostic searches available from the main menu button Search by crop, country, symptoms etc. can be used to check for additional pests that you may wish to include in the assessment in Stage 1b using the Add pest function. Pest records have been compiled separately for hosts and countries, so it is not always the case that a pest that attacks a certain crop and is also present in a selected country has been recorded from that crop in that country.
Commodities	The data on commodity types liable to carry the pest in trade/transport have been compiled generally for a pest and are not crop specific. This is an incomplete data set. When there is no commodity information for a pest and it is otherwise associated with the pathway, the pest will be included in the next stage.

Stage 1b - Identifying potential quarantine pests

This screen initially presents two pest lists based on the pathway details you have entered for this session:

Pests potentially requiring phytosanitary measures

Pests excluded from the assessment

The pests in both lists are recorded in the Compendium as:

Present in the Country of origin
A pest of the host Crop selected
Liable to be carried on the Commodity type selected or there is no data on the commodity type for that pest (this is an incomplete data set)

In addition to the above, Pests potentially requiring phytosanitary measures are either:

Not recorded for the importing country or
Recorded as absent from the importing country or
Present in the importing country, but officially regulated

The Pests excluded from the assessment are:

Present in the importing country (but not listed as a regulated pest).

The purposes of these initial lists are:

To indicate potential quarantine pests whose risk can then be assessed pest-by-pest in Stage 2. Individual PRA (top list).
To indicate whether the pest is included in the Regulated pest list for the importing country under the column heading PQ status.
To display the conclusion of any existing individual risk assessments in the Management (Manag.) column. Those pests with "yes" in this column have been selected as requiring phytosanitary measures in Stage 2 of this or a previous session.
To show other pests that are associated with the pathway but which are excluded from further assessment unless their details are modified (bottom list).
To display the data on each pest record in the columns in the table (see the Key to PRA pest lists).
To allow editing of the pest records by clicking on , the Edit record link. By editing the pest records it is possible to overrule the Compendium information with your own data and to switch pests from one list to the other.

Pest records that have been edited during this or a previous session are indicated by red data in the columns, e.g. + .

In Stage 1b you should be aiming to include all pests that are associated with the pathway and are either already regulated or are candidates for regulation in the top list for detailed risk assessment if necessary (in Stage 2 via the PRA link) and risk management (in Stage 3).

Key to PRA pest lists

The information for each pest is shown in the following columns (from left to right):

Pest type - used for sorting the list.

A: Mites;B: Bacteria/Phytoplasmas; F: Fungi; G: Snails/Slugs; I: Insects; L: Algae; N: Nematodes; P: Protozoa; W: Weeds; L: Algae; U: Unknown aetiology.

Full or partial data sheet indicator - Red: full; Blue: Partial; White: Outline.
Pest name - click on hyperlink to access data sheet.
PQ status - indicates the requlatory status for the importing country. This can also be viewed from the Regulated pest list link at the top of the page.

Category 1: Quarantine pest not present in the importing country
Category 2: Quarantine pest present but not widespread in the importing country
Category 3: Regulated, non-quarantine pest
Category 4: Pest requiring phytosanitary measures (not yet officially listed)

Manag. - this management column shows the conclusion of Stage 2 and indicates whether the pest requires phytosanitary measures to prevent its introduction via the pathway.
Commodity - indicates whether the pest is liable to be carried on the plant part(s) specified (+) or not (-), ? is used where there is no information in the Compendium).
Origin - indicates whether the pest occurs in the country of origin (+) or is absent (-).
Import - indicates whether the pest is present in the importing country (+), is present but officially regulated (!), or is absent (-).
Crop - indicates whether the pest attacks the crop (+ or -).
Edit - enables you to modify the pest record with your own user data.
PRA - click on this link to go to Stage 2: individual risk assessment for the selected pest.

After Stage 1b, the Management column displays the results of Stage 2 by showing which pests have been assessed in detail individually and the result of that assessment:

Management	Are phytosanitary measures required against this pest?
yes	The risks have been assessed during this or a previous session and it is concluded that phytosanitary measures are required to prevent the pest's introduction.
no	The risks posed by the pest have been considered to be low in Stage 2 and special phytosanitary measures are not needed.
empty	Stage 2 has not yet been completed for this pest.

Those pests with "yes" in the management column are taken forward to Stage 3 - Risk management for selection of appropriate measures to reduce the pest risks associated with the pathway.

View pest data sheet

Access to the data sheet information on individual pests has been provided throughout the Pest Risk Analysis system. Select a pest from the list (highlighted in blue) and click with the left mouse button to go to the datasheet.

Pests marked with before the name have a full data sheet, those without have outline or partial data only.

Edit pest record

First click in the modify column for the entry which initially shows "no user data". You can now select make the relevant changes and add a comment. It is recommended that modifications are referenced fully.

Sometimes the modification of a record involves more than one database relationship if you have selected multiple commodities, crops or countries in your PRA profile. Although it is not necessary to modify all the records presented, it is recommended that you edit as many as possible for use in future sessions. Your modifications are stored in User data.

A pest that already occurs in the importing country may be of phytosanitary concern if it is officially listed as a Regulated non-quarantine pest. The user can Modify the pest record to add this information by selecting Present, regulated from the Edit pest record pick list. The result is displayed as ! against the importing country in the Pest Summary.

Note that any user Comments and References will be lost if the record is converted back to the CPC status.

Pest records that have been modified by a user in this or a previous session are indicated in red in the PRA pest lists.

Add pest

This enables you to select a pest from the Compendium index to include in the PRA session. After searching for and then selecting the pest, the Pest Summary screen is presented so that you can view the CPC data (to see why it was not automatically selected) and make the necessary modifications to the record in order to include it in the PRA. If you do not edit the pest record appropriately for inclusion in the PRA, it will not be saved in the excluded pest list when you close the session.

At the moment, it is only possible to add pests that are already included in the Compendium data set.

How to search for new pests

Type a name or part of a name in the Search for box. You can use common names or scientific names for pests, crops or natural enemies. You can also search for country data sheets
Select an item from the Select type options. For example, selecting the Pests option and Arthropods option will limit the search to the arthropod pest names only
Select how you want the search to use your criteria. Begins with will find all names beginning with your criteria; Ends with will search for all names ending with your criteria; Contains will search for all names containing your criteria; Exact match will search for names that exactly match your criteria
Specify how many records per page you want to display in the results
Indicate if you want to display thumbnail pictures of each pest in the results
Finally, use the Search button to do the search

Back to top

Stage 2 - Risk assessment

In order to decide whether an individual pest meets the criteria of a quarantine pest, the risks are characterized. This process is divided into four risk factors: likelihood of entry, likelihood of establishment, likelihood of spread and likelihood of economic damage.

The amount of scientific information available will vary for different pests and expert judgement is needed to make conclusions. Assistance is provided by clicking on the Details link in the Assessment column and it is recommended that this section is consulted before completing the Summary rating and Summary note.

In addition to text notes, it is recommended that you use the rating scheme for rating the level of risk: High, Medium, Low or Negligible.

It is not necessary to complete the assessments in sequence. If the likelihood is considered negligible for any one of the risk factors, it is not necessary to complete the others.

The summaries are used to estimate the overall level of risk in the Conclusion of Stage 2. This level of risk indicates whether phytosanitary measures are required. Additional assistance may be available in Data sheet texts and FAO guidelines. Further general information is available from Phytosanitary Resources. Selection of appropriate risk management option(s) is considered in Stage 3.

Finally, you are asked Does this pest require phytosanitary measures? Clearly, this should be linked to the Conclusion of Stage 2 but it is up to you as the user to decide whether this pest justifies risk management procedures to reduce the likelihood of its introduction. The "yes" or "no" is carried back to the Stage 1b pest list to be recorded in the management column (for consideration in the next stage - Risk management).

If you answer "yes" to this question, and then click "Save change and return to the lists" you are presented with the 4 status categories. Unless the pest is already officially listed as a regulated pest, the appropriate category would be 4 - Pest requiring phytosanitary measures (not yet officially listed). This status will then be available for future PRA sessions. Even if you decide not to add this pest to the list of regulated pests (because you are working on a test PRA for example), Stage 2 responses will be available for future sessions and the pest will still appear in the list of pests requiring phytosanitary measures for Stage 3 of the current PRA session. The regulatory Status and Management fields are handled separately in the current version of this PRA system in recognition of cases in which a species that is already officially listed as a quarantine pest represents a very low overall risk in the particular commodity pathway investigated.

A Report for this pest can be generated by clicking on the Report link on the left hand side of the screen.

For a full PRA, all pests in the list of Pests potentially requiring phytosanitary measures in Stage 1b would be assessed in Stage 2 - Individual PRA. Only those with a "yes" in the management column (indicating that they now actually, rather than just potentially, require phytosanitary measures) are taken forward to Stage 3 - Risk management.

Risk Factors

"Checklists" of more detailed factors for consideration are presented for each of the 4 risk factor chapters to help you assess the risks in a structured way.

The More info button provides more detail. In the Note field you can enter any text to accompany your decision (for future reference and exporting to a PRA report).

If required, you can cut and paste text from the data sheet into a Note field.

Although it is not essential to enter ratings for every factor, to finish this step, you should complete the SUMMARY at the bottom of the checklist because it is this rating and note that are carried back to the main Stage 2 screen when you click Save and return to stage 2.

Stage 3 - Risk management

During this final stage of the PRA, the system provides some very basic assistance with selecting the appropriate risk management options for consignments of the commodity from the specified Country of origin. This screen is accessed by clicking the Risk management button in the Stage 1b screen.

Stage 3 - Risk management

This is the final stage of the PRA and should be considered after you have decided which pests actually require phytosanitary measures during Stage 2 - Individual PRA. These pests are indicated by "yes" in the management column in the previous pest list.

This screen aims to provide a general check list of risk management options to help you consider and select appropriate measures. The availability of risk management options varies for different countries. Consultation of FAO guidelines and other sources for more detailed assistance is recommended.

The list of pests requiring phytosanitary measures can be viewed again by clicking Back to the lists. The options should be chosen for their effectiveness in reducing the likelihood of introduction of these pests to the destination country.

When you have completed this stage, you can return to the previous screen to generate a report of all or part of the PRA or close the session. The session will be available for further editing and updating unless it is archived. Reports of all sessions, including those that have been archived, can be obtained by selecting Open a session from the opening screen and Select session.

Although Risk management can be selected at any time, it would logically follow the completion of Stage 2 for all Pests potentially requiring phytosanitary measures so that the list of pests actually requiring phytosanitary measures has been determined (these are denoted by "yes" in the management column of Stage 1b screen). The risk management options should be chosen for their effectiveness in reducing the likelihood of introduction of these pests.

A "checklist" of general risk management options is presented under 3 headings. Scroll down the page or click one of the links at the top of the page to reveal each section. Tick those you think are appropriate for this PRA (you should consider all sections and can tick more than one option).

A text Note can be used to provide more information on methods, specific requirements for individual pests, etc. Additional options can also be added but should be described in full. This information will be available for the report of the PRA.

The availability of risk management options varies for different countries. Consultation of the FAO guidelines and other sources for more detailed assistance is advised.

Save and return to pest lists or Back to the lists returns you to the Stage 1b screen from which you can export a range of reports from the PRA session or continue working on the pest lists.

Reports

In Stages 1b, 2 or 3 a set of report options is available for the PRA sessions by clicking on the Report button on the left hand side of the screen.

The user modifications of individual pest records remain editable in other sessions.

Regulated pest list

This feature allows you to Add, Edit and Delete pests on your own lists of regulated pests. These records will be available to future PRA sessions (as a category in the PQ Status column of the Stage 1b screen of a PRA session).

At the moment, it is not possible to add pests that are not in the Compendium data set. It is also up to the user to check whether the Status in the Regulated pest list and the pest data shown by selecting Modify pest data are in agreement.

Pest status

It is recommended that official lists compiled by your National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) are stored here. The status categories are below; 1-3 refer to official listings:

1	Quarantine pests that are absent from the country.
2	Quarantine pests that are present in the country but not widely distributed and under official control.
3	Regulated non-quarantine pests that are present in the country but whose presence in plants for planting affects their intended use.
4	Pest requiring phytosanitary measures (not yet officially listed)

The last category is compiled by the system during PRA sessions. It shows those pests that have been marked individually as requiring phytosanitary measures during one or more PRA sessions (Stage 2 - Risk assessment) but that are not already listed with regulated status 1, 2 or 3. These may be considered as candidates for official listing as regulated pests.

Status 4 should not be entered or edited manually, instead you are advised to carry out a PRA session By pest.

User data

The pest records that have been modified by you (or other users if the system is set up on a network) during PRA sessions can be viewed in detail and even edited or deleted by clicking the User data link from the top of the screen. This option has been provided for the following reasons:

To enable you to delete large numbers of records from test sessions that are no longer wanted.
To allow direct editing of the text Remark and Reference you have saved without having to go back into a session.

Please note that the system only holds a single record for each modified relationship and it is this information that is used when generating pest lists for existing editable PRA sessions and new sessions. Editing or deleting user modifications here will affect existing and new session results. Please be especially cautious if the CPC has been set up on a network for others to access.

Feedback to CABI

CAB International is keen to update records on any of the species featured in the Compendium or to include data on additional pests of phytosanitary concern.

Please send new information, corrections or User data with published references, by post, fax or email to the address below. We are also interested to hear your views on this PRA tool for future development of the system.

Compendium Coordinator
Crop Protection Compendium
CAB International
Wallingford
Oxon OX10 8DE
UK
Fax: +44 (0)1491 833508
Email: compend@cabi.org

Version 1, February 2003