Risk assessment activities of POnTE presented at the IPRRG meeting in Parma

The 10th Meeting of the International Pest Risk Research Group (IPRRG), organized in association with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was held from 23-26 August 2016 at EFSA’s headquarters in Parma, Italy. This yearly meeting of scientists and risk assessors involved in pest risk modelling and mapping methods presented innovative research from all over the globe. It focused on key challenges and innovations in the discipline and the science of pest risk assessment.

Dr. L. Espaldon, a Ph.D. student under the supervision of Prof. A. Oude Lansink at Wageningen University (WU), presented the ongoing studies on multi-criteria impact assessment included in the WP8 of POnTE. Her work is focused on improving current pest risk assessment methodologies, by quantifying the potential social and economic impacts of new disease introductions. An integrated driven impact framework is under development within WP8 in POnTE, to improve risk assessments and strengthen current EU plant health policies.

Also present were three other researchers involved in POnTE WP8 activities: Dr. A. Vicent (IVIA), Dr. J.A. Navas (IAS-CSIC) and Dr. W. van der Werf (WU), who presented relevant models of spread and pathway of plant diseases.