Abstract

The Global Plant Health Assessment aims to provide a first time‐ever overall assessment of plant health in the natural and human‐made ecosystems of the world. Plant health is assessed through the functions that plants ensure in ecosystems: "ecosystem services" (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). The GPHA assesses plant health on the basis of published, science‐ and factbased, expert evaluations. The GPHA considers plant health from the angle of infectious diseases, yet addresses plant health as a whole. Its goal is an overview of the current status and trends in plant health, and their outcomes on ecosystem services: provisioning (food, fibre, material), regulating (climate, water, soils), and cultural (re‐creation, spiritual, beauty). Policies must be grounded on scientific evidence. With the Global Plant Health Assessment, we hope to produce material that would help developing policies globally and locally which would strengthen the ability to ensure plant health in a sustainable manner. The GPHA addresses four broad types of Plant‐Systems: forests, agricultural systems, peri‐urban horticulture and household gardens, and urban vegetation. Each Plant‐System in each ecoregion is being addressed by a small team composed of a Lead Scientist and a group of 3‐4 Experts. The initiative therefore involves some 100 scientists in the world.