Sustainable management of transboundary pests requires holistic and inclusive solutions

This opinion piece is derived from presentations and discussions held during a webinar on “Transboundary Disease and Pest Management” (March 3, 2021), as a part of the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) webinar series organized by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Globalization and changing climates are aggravating the occurrence and impacts of transboundary pests, and driving the emergence of new threats. Most of the low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are not fully prepared in terms of surveillance, diagnostics, and deployment of plant health solutions due to several factors: adequate investment is lacking; knowledge is inadequate; and connections from the local to global, and global to local are insufficient.

Effectively countering the current and emerging threats to plant health requires a holistic approach that includes: 1) globally coordinated diagnostic and surveillance systems; 2) epidemiological modelling, risk assessment, forecasting and preparedness for proactive management and containment; and 3) implementation of context-sensitive, eco-friendly, gender-responsive and socially inclusive integrated disease and pest management approaches to reduce the impacts of devastating transboundary pests and diseases.