Risk Analysis
As noted in Risk analysis section, most national governments (i.e. those countries that are members of the World Trade Organization) are required to use risk analysis as a means to justify any restrictions on international trade in live aquatic animals or their products based on risk to human, animal or plant health, including the application of sanitary measures beyond those outlined in the World Organisation of Animal Health’s Aquatic Animal Health Code. As a result, risk analysis has become internationally accepted as the standard method for deciding whether trade in a particular commodity poses a significant risk to human, animal or plant health, and, if so, what measures (if any) could be applied to reduce that risk to an acceptable level.
The risk analysis process has many characteristics that support good governance. These include:
- consistency of process,
- transparency of process,
- emphasis on stakeholder consultation,
- separation of the objective (scientific fact) from the subjective (opinion),
- recognition of the principle of equivalence of risk management measures,
- emphasis on the precautionary approach,
- concept of appropriate level of protection (ALOP) (which is the same across all types of commodities),
- separation of science-based and political decisions, and
- concept of unacceptable risk.
Risk Analysis
