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

What is E-CERT for Plant Protection

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. E-cert EXPORTING COUNTRY NPPO IMPORTING COUNTRY NPPO Certification process Inspection procedure, testing,… Import procedures Inspection, release,… Sending certificate Receiving certificate

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

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

Two components to Electronic Certification E-cert 1. A standard Message 2. An Exchange Mechanism

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)

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

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: 1.The data elements that are allowed in the document and the order in which they appear 2.The type of information each element can contain 3.Which individual elements are required Extract from Jason Dittrich presentation done at the Ottawa EPCW May 2009.

Example XML Schema

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

Extract from Jason Ditrich powerpoint presentation done at the Ottawa EPCW May An XML schema can specify a list of possible values

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

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

“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.” UN/CEFACT - Roles

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 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 UN/CEFACT eCert SPS Project - Background

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: standard/SPSCertificate_3p0.xsd The UN/CEFACT Sanitary/Phytosanitary (SPS) Certificate

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

UN/CEFACT Core components

1.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. 2.Because of this design, few restrictions are imposed by the schema itself and any ISPM12-specific requirements for phytosanitary certificates must defined separately. Characteristics of the UN/CEFACT (SPS) Certificate Schema

1.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. 2.Few ISPM12 restrictions are imposed in the SPS Schema itself. How might these be implemented? Current Challenges

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 Challenge 1: What has been done so far

Simple XML Datamap example In ISPM 12In the SPS certificate standard In the SPS certificate message Declared name and address of consignee: GAMBLES ONTARIO PRODUCE INC., 302 DWIGHT AVE, TORONTO, M8V 2W7 CANADA Mandatory SPS_Consignment.Consignee.SPS_Pa rty SPS_Party.Name.Text Optional SPS_Party.Identifier SPS_Party.Role SPS_PartyType SPS_Address SPS_Contact SPS_Person Gambles Ontario Produce Inc. CN M8V 2W7 302 DWIGHT AVE Toronto CA Towards Paperless Certification Extract from Peter Johnston, NZ, powerpoint presentation done at the Ottawa EPCW May 2009.

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

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? E-Cert Message Summary

Two components to Electronic Certification E-cert 1. A standard Message 2. An Exchange Mechanism

2. An Exchange Mechanism 1.NPPO-to-NPPO authenticated assurance (of who sent and what info is sent) 2.Universally accepted secure procedure for exchanging certificate data (e.g. notifies, push/pull, acknowledge, etc.) 3.Universally accepted implementation of procedure for exchange (e.g. Web services contract) Recommendation is to use international standard Web Services technology

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

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

Summary of Technical Elements of an E-Cert Standard 1. Standard Message 1.XML Schema 2.XML Datamap 3.ISPM-12 Requirements Definition 2.Standard Exchange 1. Web Services Contract (WSDL) 2.Security Implementation (WS-Security, WS-Digital Signature)

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. E-Cert Requirements Summary

Electronic Certification The following nine points summarize the key agreements and recommendations resulting from the plenary session on day three of the workshop. 1.Agreement on definition of Electronic Phytosanitary Certification; 2.All elements for electronic phytosanitary certification exchange mechanism will be derived from ISPM-12; 3.Universally accepted standards for secure certificate exchange, message format, and implementation of procedures for exchange will be used; 4.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); Agreed Principles and Recommendations for International Electronic Phytosanitary Certification Data Exchange

Agreed Principles and Recommendations for International Electronic Phytosanitary Certification Data Exchange (continued) 5.During transition periods in implementation, current hard-copy practices would still apply; 6.Rely on IT experts to provide advice on methods for flexible and secure electronic transfer; 7.Initiate a multilateral standardization approach rather than a bilateral approach with respect to country-to-country negotiations for exchange; 8.Engage developing countries through regional cooperation and pilot projects and use IPPC for outreach activities; and 9.Develop simple-to-understand communication pieces such as Background paper and “myth-busting” Questions and Answers.