North American Plant Protection Organization

1. North American Plant Protection Organization Ian McDonell NAPPO Executive Director 21st. Technical Consultation among Regional Plant Protection Organizations Entebbe, Uganda November 30 to December 3, 2009

2. What is E-CERT for Plant Protection

3. E-cert Definition of Electronic Phytosanitary Certification Electronic phytosanitary certification is the authenticated and secure electronic transmission of phytosanitary certification data, including the certifying statement, from the National Plant protection Organization (NPPO) of the exporting country to the NPPO of the importing country. IMPORTING COUNTRY NPPO EXPORTING COUNTRY NPPO Sending certificate Receiving certificate Certification process Inspection procedure, testing,… Import procedures Inspection, release,…

4. What is not Electronic Phytosanitary Certification All inputs to phytosanitary certification activities outside of the definition IMPORTING COUNTRY NPPO EXPORTING COUNTRY NPPO Sending certificate Receiving certificate Certification process Inspection procedure, testing,… Import procedures Inspection, release,…

5. E-cert Principal objective Standardizing the electronic exchange of phytosanitary certificates Movement and format of the certificate data

6. E-cert Two components to Electronic Certification 1. A standard Message2. An Exchange Mechanism

7. Towards developing a Standard Message E-cert • Universally accepted message format (XML)- Common understanding of the organisation of • the information (XML Schema)- Common dictionary (data elements)

8. EXtensible Markup Language XML –A standard format for organizing and describing data. In XML, information is organized into ‘Elements’, similar to the boxes on a Certificate. E-cert Extract from Jason Dittrich presentation done at the Ottawa EPCW May 2009.

9. What is an XML Schema E-cert • An XML Schema provides means for describing a particular type of document (ex. Phytosanitary Certificate). It can define: • The data elements that are allowed in the document and the order in which they appear • The type of information each element can contain • Which individual elements are required Extract from Jason Dittrich presentation done at the Ottawa EPCW May 2009.

10. Example XML Schema Extract from Jason Dittrich presentation done at the Ottawa EPCW May 2009.

11. An XML schema can specify the type of information each data element can contain Extract from Jason Dittrich PowerPoint presentation done at the Ottawa EPCW May 2009.

12. An XML schema can specifya list of possible values Extract from Jason Ditrich powerpoint presentation done at the Ottawa EPCW May 2009.

13. An XML schema can specify required data elements Extract from Jason Ditrich powerpoint presentation done at the Ottawa EPCW May 2009.

14. A Standard E-Cert Message Using XML and XML Schema • Phytosanitary Certificate Data can be represented electronically using XML • This electronic representation of Certificate data is defined by an XML Schema

15. UN/CEFACT - Roles “UN Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business supports activities dedicated to improving the ability of business, trade and administrative organizations, from developed, developing and transitional economies, to exchange products and relevant services effectively.”

16. UN/CEFACT eCert SPS Project - Background Mid 1990s • Exporting countries were looking for a more secure and efficient means to exchange export certification • Australia had developed an ‘edi’ or code based system to exchange information system to system (1998 Japan) • New Zealand was in the process of developing a web based system 2002-2003 • Food Safety Quadrilaterals for meat recognised the need to collaborate to develop a system (CA/US/NZ/AU) • AU and NZ collaborated to harmonise data requirements and technical design

17. The UN/CEFACT Sanitary/Phytosanitary (SPS) Certificate It is an authorised document which provides statements about the compliance of an animal/plant based agricultural commodity to the requirements of the Export Regulator and/or Import Regulator.The schema has been published in 2009 and can be found at: http://www.unece.org/uncefact/data/standard/SPSCertificate_3p0.xsd

18. UN/CEFACT (SPS) Certificate Schema This standard adopts an XML Schema-based solution and uses data elements from the published UN/CEFACT core component library

19. UN/CEFACT Core components

20. Characteristics of the UN/CEFACT (SPS) Certificate Schema • Universal Schema was designed to allow for use with more than one type of certificate, e.g. phytosanitary certificates, live animal certificates, meat certificates, etc. • Because of this design, few restrictions are imposed by the schema itself and any ISPM12-specific requirements for phytosanitary certificates must defined separately.

21. Current Challenges • Due to its universal design, the SPS Schema is complex and data elements are named generically. Every data item in ISPM12 must be identified and mapped to the correct element within the SPS Certificate Schema. • Few ISPM12 restrictions are imposed in the SPS Schema itself. How might these be implemented?

22. Challenge 1: What has been done so far • An “XML Datamap” and a UN/CEFACT implementation guide have been prepared. • Translates ISPM-12 to the SPS Certificate XML schema • Highlights mandatory vs. optional data requirements in the SPS Schema • Provides real life examples • Provides a single ‘go to’ point when defining the XML message content

23. Simple XML Datamap example Extract from Peter Johnston, NZ, powerpoint presentation done at the Ottawa EPCW May 2009. Towards Paperless Certification

24. Challenge 2: ISPM12 Requirements and the SPS Schema Because ISPM12-specific requirements are not imposed in the SPS Schema itself, these must be defined and implemented separately. How might this be accomplished?

25. Challenge 2: ISPM12 Requirements and the SPS Schema Option 1: Each NPPO builds custom message validation into their internal systems • International community creates a narrative (text) document describing the message requirements • Pros: Does not rely on a specific technology • Cons: Each participant must build their own validation system and may interpret the requirements differently

26. Challenge 2: ISPM12 Requirements and the SPS Schema Option 2: Utilize a centralized system for validating requirements • International Community creates a validation system all E-Cert messages must pass through • Pros: Single system ensures all participants are using the same set of requirements • Cons: Costly to build and maintain. Single point of failure.

27. Challenge 2: ISPM12 Requirements and the SPS Schema Option 3: Use an additional technical document as an addendum to SPS Schema • International Community drafts a technical (computer readable) addendum to the SPS Schema applying ISPM-12 message requirements • Pros: Technical document limits differences in interpretation of the standard • Cons: E-Cert standard would need to contain an additional specification in addition to SPS Schema

28. E-Cert Message Summary To implement electronic certificates, the international community must decide: • How to best represent phytosanitary certificates electronically? • How does the community want to use the information sent? • How should ISPM-12 requirements be defined electronically?

29. E-cert Two components to Electronic Certification 1. A standard Message2. An Exchange Mechanism

30. 2. An Exchange Mechanism • NPPO-to-NPPO authenticated assurance (of who sent and what info is sent) • Universally accepted secure procedure for exchanging certificate data (e.g. notifies, push/pull, acknowledge, etc.) • Universally accepted implementation of procedure for exchange (e.g. Web services contract) • Recommendation is to use • international standard Web Services technology

31. System to System Solutions Agree a mechanism for exchanging data Agree the data tobe exchanged Develop, implement & testthe software systems Transition from Paper Basedto Paperless Certification Extract from Peter Johnston, NZ, PowerPoint presentation done at the Ottawa EPCW May 2009. Toward Paperless Certification

32. Vision:Plug’n’Play Phyto Assurance Network Community of Exporting and Importing NPPOs Extract from Peter Johnston, NZ, PowerPoint presentation done at the Ottawa EPCW May 2009. Toward Paperless Certification

33. Summary of Technical Elements of an E-Cert Standard • 1. Standard Message • XML Schema • XML Datamap • ISPM-12 Requirements Definition • Standard Exchange • 1. Web Services Contract (WSDL) • Security Implementation (WS-Security, WS-Digital Signature)

34. E-Cert Requirements Summary The electronic transfer should contain all elements that the paper certificate contains, in accordance with ISPM 12. The authenticity of the message certification data should be assured by electronic means. In this way it should be clear that the electronic certification data are provided and supported by the NPPO of the exporting country. The assurance/guarantee should/will be assured by electronic means. For this reason, the electronic transfer should be in a protected way such that the data cannot be changed or read by any party during transfer. To facilitate communication, this transfer can best be done in a standardized format. For this purpose, the XML format, following an XML schema, is strongly recommended.

35. Electronic Certification Agreed Principles and Recommendations for International Electronic Phytosanitary Certification Data Exchange • The following nine points summarize the key agreements and recommendations resulting • from the plenary session on day three of the workshop. • Agreement on definition of Electronic Phytosanitary Certification; • All elements for electronic phytosanitary certification exchange mechanism will be derived from ISPM-12; • Universally accepted standards for secure certificate exchange, message format, and implementation of procedures for exchange will be used; • UN/CEFACT Schema (data elements, core components) must be reviewed to ensure consistency with ISPM-12 requirements and a user guide developed to include an 'ISPM-12 Overlay for the UN/CEFACT Schema' (an ISPM-12 specific schema imposing business restrictions on the UN/CEFACT Schema);

36. Agreed Principles and Recommendations for International Electronic Phytosanitary Certification Data Exchange (continued) • During transition periods in implementation, current hard-copy practices would still apply; • Rely on IT experts to provide advice on methods for flexible and secure electronic transfer; • Initiate a multilateral standardization approach rather than a bilateral approach with respect to country-to-country negotiations for exchange; • Engage developing countries through regional cooperation and pilot projects and use IPPC for outreach activities; and • Develop simple-to-understand communication pieces such as Background paper and “myth-busting” Questions and Answers.