Feed-back from NPPOs on the ‘Don’t Risk It!’ campaign
Since 2013, many EPPO member countries have used the EPPO templates in their national awareness raising campaigns targeted at travellers and tourists to warn them about the risks of moving plants and to encourage responsible behaviour. The EPPO Secretariat is always very happy to receive feed-back from NPPOs on how these templates have been used in practice and to display on this webpage translations, shared experiences and pictures of the poster in situ.
Translations of the EPPO poster in different languages
Bulgarian
Dutch (Belgium)
French (Corsica for Xylella fastidiosa)
Hungarian
Portuguese
Russian (Estonian NPPO)
Turkish
Ukrainian
Estonian
German (Austria)
Italian (Corsica for Xylella fastidiosa)
Latvian
Polish
Russian (Polish NPPO)
Greek
Macedonian
Azeri
French
German
Italian (Campania region)
Maltese
Romanian
Slovene
Irish
Macedonian
Don’t pack any risks! – Switzerland 2022
During summer 2022, Switzerland launched a communication campaign to raise awareness of international travellers about the risks of transporting plants (and animals) in their luggage. A dedicated webpage with videos and flyers has been prepared in German, French, Italian and English.
RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022 – United Kingdom
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) of the United Kingdom is currently participating in the Royal Horticultural Society Flower Show (Chelsea, GB, 2022-05-23/28). The ‘Don’t Risk It!’ slogan is being used to attract attention from the horticultural industry and the general public to the risks of carrying plants when travelling abroad.
Italian version (60s)
English version (60s)
Arabic version (60s)
Regione Toscana in 2018 – Italy
English version (30s)
Italian version (30s)
Video produced by the ORPRAMed project
Awareness raising campaign Ukraine in 2020
The NPPO of Ukraine has prepared posters, leaflets and luggage tags with the ‘Don’t Risk It!’ slogan. These items were placed in places where they could be seen by travelers - at airports, seaports, railway and bus stations, travel agencies, customs, as well as distributed among participants in meetings and seminars held in different regions of Ukraine in 2020.
Boryspil Airport
Automobile point of entry. Border customs
post in Vinnytsia region
Odessa Airport
Travel agency in Lviv
Bus station in Poltava
Sea port in Kherson
Awareness raising campaign at the Riga International Airport
On the 15th of October 2018, the State Plant Protection Service of Latvia organized a one day action at the Riga International Airport. This action took place in the framework of the national awareness raising campaign ‘Don’t Risk It!’. A nice video of the event can be viewed on YouTube, and many pictures were kindly provided to the EPPO Secretariat. Warm thanks are due to the Latvian team!
Video of the awareness raising campaign 
Experience at Naples Airport (IT)
Social information campaigns serve to inform the public and all the relevant actors to induce changes in people behavior. With the support of the EPPO Secretariat in Paris, the Plant Protection Service of Campania Region (part of the NPPO of Italy) has designed and built an information campaign about the risks of introducing organisms that are harmful to plants and plant products via passenger baggage. The actions started with the drafting and publication of posters and brochures, using the form supplied by the EPPO Secretariat, entitled "Don’t Risk It".
In a second phase, distribution of this material was organized by the PPS inspectors staff at the Naples airport, with the participation of the airport managing body (Gesac Capodichino Naples Airport). Participation and direct contact between authorities (police, customs, etc.) and passengers by the inspectors enhanced the understanding of the importance of the problem and this was found to work better than just displaying a poster on the wall. Passengers (mainly tourists) and airport staff, were curious and appreciative about this unique new initiative, and also asked questions. Many people were familiar with the history of the latest phytosanitary emergencies in the regional and national territories such as Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (red palm weewil), Dryocosmus kuriphilus (chestnut gall wasp), Toumeyella parvicornis (pine caribbean scale), Aromia bungii (redneck longhorned beetle).
The information campaign was launched in parallel with the start of phytosanitary inspection of passenger baggage in collaboration with the Naples Customs Agency 1, with which a memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed for the implementation of these initiatives.
Warm thanks are due to Dr Eduardo Ucciero – Plant Inspector – Regional Plant Protection Service, Campania (IT) who kindly prepared this short paper.
Collaboration in Naples airport: a Custom Officer controlling a passenger from Bangladesh with a phytosanitary inspector specialist.
EPPO poster displayed at various airports and seaports
The pictures below of the EPPO poster displayed at various airports and seaports were kindly given by NPPOs and many travellers. More can be viewed in the EPPO Gallery.
If the EPPO poster has also been displayed in your country, please let us know and send us a picture!
Courtesy: Scott Meadows (States of Jersey
Environmental Management and Rural Economy)
Courtesy: Ana Paula de Almeida Cruz de Carvalho
(DGAV, Portugal)
Courtesy: Mariangela Ciampitti, ERSAF-Lombardia (IT)
Courtesy: Nadine Kieffer (NPPO of Luxembourg)
Courtesy: Wolfgang Willig (Germany)
Courtesy: Mart Kinkar (NPPO of Estonia)
Courtesy: Rob Tanner (EPPO)
Courtesy: Administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Plant Health Protection
Courtesy: Valerio Lucchesi (EPPO)
Courtesy: Vicky Knight
Courtesy: Serkan Soykan (Ministry of Food, Agriculture
and Livestock, Ankara)
Courtesy: Clifford Borg (Plant Health Directorate, Malta)
Courtesy: Mariangela Ciampitti, ERSAF-Lombardia (IT)
Courtesy: Camille Picard (EPPO)
Courtesy: György Pataky (NPPO of Hungary)
Courtesy: Kristina Kjago (NPPO of Latvia)
Courtesy: Shlomit Zioni (NPPO of Israel)
Courtesy: Mediterranean Phytopathological Union (MPU)
Courtesy: Department of Phytosanitary Control (GR)
Courtesy: Dr. Christian Hillnhütter (Plant Protection Service, Hesse, DE)
Courtesy: Flora Limache
(EU Minor Uses Coordination Facility)
Courtesy: Mariangela Ciampitti, ERSAF-Lombardia (IT)
Courtesy: Mariangela Ciampitti, ERSAF-Lombardia (IT)
Courtesy: Wolfgang Willig (Germany)
Courtesy: Anne-Sophie Roy (EPPO)
Courtesy: Florica Gogu (NPPO of Romania)
Courtesy: Administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Plant Health Protection
Frankfurt international airport
Courtesy: Wolfgang Willig (DE)
Courtesy: Alan MacLeod (Apha, GB)
Courtesy: Lucy Carson-Taylor (Apha, GB)
EPPO poster and leaflet on national websites
Belgium
Service public fédéral. Santé publique, sécurité de la chaine alimentaire et environnement.
Vacances à l'étranger?
Vakantie in het buitenland?
Germany
Journal für Kulturpflanzen 66. 2014, p 147.
France
Leaflet focussing on Xylella fastidiosa to protect Corsica
Italy
Leaflet (for EXPO Milano 2015) - in Italian and in English
Leaflet (Campania region 2017) - in Italian and in English
Ireland
Don’t Risk It! – Awareness raising campaign. Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Latvia
Leaflet in Latvian
Malta
Ministry for sustainable development the environment and climate change.
Publications and articles
Leaflet in English
Poland
Leaflet in Polish
PIORIN web site: poster and leaflet
Portugal
Leaflet in Portuguese
Slovenia
Leaflet in Slovene
Information campaign on the NPPO website - in Slovene and in English
Turkey
Leaflet in Turkish
Ukraine