INTERNATIONAL PLANT PROTECTION CONVENTION

(New Revised Text approved by the FAO Conference at its 29th Session - November 1997)

Preamble

The contracting parties,

recognizing the necessity for international cooperation in controlling pests of plants and plant products and in preventing their international spread, and especially their introduction into endangered areas;

recognizing that phytosanitary measures should be technically justified, transparent and should not be applied in such a way as to constitute either a means of arbitrary or unjustified discrimination or a disguised restriction, particularly on international trade;

desiring to ensure close coordination of measures directed to these ends;

desiring to provide a framework for the development and application of harmonized phytosanitary measures and the elaboration of international standards to that effect;

taking into account internationally approved principles governing the protection of plant, human and animal health, and the environment; and