Options for National Participation Workshop for Regional Advisors

Options for National Participation Workshop for Regional Advisors for Training and Sharing Experience Bangkok, 22 -27 May 2006 Philippe Leblond Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Overview l Importance of national participation – The Biosafety Clearing-House – National Participation l An outline of possible options – The different options (4+1) – The pros and cons of each option l Conclusion and questions

The Biosafety Clearing-House (Quick recap) l The Protocol establishes the BCH to: – Facilitate the exchange of scientific, technical, environmental and legal information on, and experience with, living modified organisms; and – Assist Parties to implement the Protocol, taking into account the special needs of developing country Parties, in particular the least developed and small island developing States among them, and countries with economies in transition, as well as countries that are centers of origin and centers of genetic diversity.

The Biosafety Clearing-House l Importance of National Participation – The BCH serves a fundamental and basic function of the Protocol and the Parties could not implement the Protocol without the BCH. – It is an obligation for all Contracting Parties to use the BCH as the only recognized means to make available information required under the Protocol.

Overview l Importance of national participation – The origins of the Protocol – The Biosafety Clearing-House l An outline of possible options – The different options (4+1) – The pros and cons of each option l Conclusion and questions

Options for national participation – 4+1 Complexity 1. Management Center Format 2. Simple n. BCH Format 3. BCH Crawler Format Syntax 4. BCH Web Service Format Syntax +1. Offline Participation Format Protocol Common Formats Vocabularies XML & XSD SOAP & WSDL No IT knowledge required Some IT knowledge required Advanced IT knowledge required

Common Formats (1/2) l Data originates from many sources, provided in different languages, resides in different locations. l The BCH uses standardized structures to organize, index and report information. l This simplifies searching for and locating information in the BCH databases

Common Formats (2/2) l The BCH common formats are based on Protocol where possible. – l E. g. Annexes I and II Main common formats are: – – – Focal Point & Authorities Laws & Regulations, Agreements Decisions Under AIA, Decision Under Article 11, etc.

Controlled Vocabularies l Again, data originates from many sources, provided in different languages, resides in different locations. l The BCH use predefined list of terms and related synonyms used in a specific context – E. g. Organism names, subject areas, country names l Where possible, BCH uses terms taken from established multilingual thesauruses – AGROVOC, ENVOC, and others l BCH is multilingual, translations allow searching in six official UN languages – Records remain in original language

Common Formats and Vocabularies l Whatever the chosen option for national participation, conformance to Common Formats and Controlled Vocabularies is required. l This is the electronic equivalent of using a form (with specific fields for information) with a list of pre-determined choices for each answer (the controlled vocabulary)

Options for national participation Overview – Option 1 l Option 1 - BCH Management Centre The Management Center of the BCH is the simplest, cheapest and most efficient way to register data in the BCH. This is the most commonly used solution by governments and organizations. Complexity 1. Management Center Semantic 2. Simple n. BCH Semantic 3. BCH Crawler Semantic Represent. 4. BCH Web Service Semantic Represent. Technical

Options for national participation Overview – Option 1 The Management Center is available online, as part of the BCH Central Portal. It contains a series of entry forms that corresponds to each common formats. It provides an easy and efficient way to submit information to the BCH in the proper format. Submitted information is immediately made available online upon approval. Example of an entry form

Options for national participation Overview – Option 1 l Pros – – – No software to install, location independent No maintenance required Easy to use, fully supported Available in all 6 UN languages Security and backups by SCBD l Requirements – – Reliable internet connection Records have to be entered manually

Options for national participation Scenario – Option 1 National Web Site http: //www. bch. xy BCH Central Portal XML XML BCH DB Op tio n 1 BCH Management Centre jfhej e jwje wjwj eje je jejjjjej je jeje. eeje jej jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj ejjq ejj wjwjej ejjw jjweje. jfhej e jwje wjwj eje e rerew rewrewrewre re je jeje. eeje jej jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj ejjq ejj wjwjej je jejjjjej je Information is entered once twice

Options for national participation Overview – Option 2 l Option 2 - Simple n. BCH Application The Simple n. BCH is a Microsoft Access database/application developed by the CBD Secretariat. Complexity 1. Management Center Semantic 2. Simple n. BCH Semantic 3. BCH Crawler Semantic Represent. 4. BCH Web Service Semantic Represent. Technical

Options for national participation Overview – Option 2 l Pros – – – Easy to use Does not require a stable internet connection Information is hosted locally l Requirements – – Only supported on MS Windows Software installation is required Maintenance is required (for backups, etc. . . ) Records have to be entered manually

Options for national participation Scenario – Option 2 BCH Central Portal National Web Site XML XML MDB XML Simple n. BCH (MS Access) jfhej e jwje wjwj eje Option 2 je jejjjjej je jeje. eeje jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj ejjq ejj wjwjej ejjw jjweje. jfhej e jwje wjwj eje e rerew rewrewrewre re je jeje. eeje jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj ejjq ejj wjwjej je jejjjjej je Information is entered once BCH DB

Options for national participation Overview – Option 3 l Option 3 – Pull – BCH Crawler Place your documents online on your web server and wait for the BCH to download them. Complexity 1. Management Center Semantic 2. Simple n. BCH Semantic 3. BCH Crawler Semantic Represent. 4. BCH Web Service Semantic Represent. Technical

Options for national participation Overview – Option 3 l Pros – – – l Allow interoperability with existing databases Relatively easy to implement Information is hosted locally Requirements – – – National Web Site Stable internet connectivity Some IT knowledge Development Publishing of information may be delayed (about 24 h) Party is responsible for maintenance, backups, etc.

Options for national participation Scenario – Option 3 BCH Central Portal National Web Site XML Optio n 3 XML BCH DB BCH Crawler DB XML XML DB • In this scenario, the BCH pulls the information from the National Web Site. • National Applications The BCH pulls the information on a regular basis to check for any updates Existing Databases jfhej e jwje wjwj eje je jejjjjej je jeje. eeje jejeejej e jfhej e jwje wjwj eje jejowoe j 39 ejj ejjq ejj wjwjej ejjw je jejjjjej je wjwj jjweje. jfhej e jwje jeje. eeje jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj eje ejjq ejj wjwjej ejjw jwje wjwj eje jfhej e e rerewjjweje. jfhej e jwje wjwj rewrewrewre re je jejjjjej je jeje. eeje jejeejej e je jeje. eeje jej eje jfhej e jwje jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj wjwj eje jejeejeje rerew rewrewrewre re ejjw e jejowoe j 39 ejj wjwjej ejjq ejj je ejjq ejj wjwjej eejejjweje. jfhejeejejjjjej je jeje. eeje jeje. je jejjjjej jejeejej ewjwj jwje jejowoe j 39 ejj je ejjq jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj wjwjej ejjw jjweje. jfhej e ejjq ejj wjwjej je jejjjjej e rerew rewrewrewre re jwje wjwj je je jeje. eejeeje jejeejej e rerew rewrewrewre re jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj je jeje. eeje jej ejjq ejj wjwjej je jejjjjej jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj ejjq ejj wjwjej je jejjjjej je

Options for national participation Overview – Option 4 l Option 4 – Push – BCH Web Service Send your document programmatically to the BCH using the BCH Web Service Complexity 1. Management Center Semantic 2. Simple n. BCH Semantic 3. BCH Crawler Semantic Represent. 4. BCH Web Service Semantic Represent. Technical

Options for national participation Overview – Option 4 l Pros – – l Allow interoperability with existing databases Information is hosted locally Information is published without delay Does not require a stable internet connectivity Requirements – Requires advanced IT knowledge – Requires development – Party is responsible for maintenance, backups, etc.

Options for national participation Scenario – Option 4 BCH Central Portal National Web Site BCH DB tion Op DB XML XML DB National Applications 4 BCH Web Service • • Existing Databases In this scenario, the National Web Site pushes the information to the BCH. The National Web Site has the control of when the information is updated. jfhej e jwje wjwj eje je jejjjjej je jeje. eeje jejeejej e jfhej e jwje wjwj eje jejowoe j 39 ejj ejjq ejj wjwjej ejjw je jejjjjej je wjwj jjweje. jfhej e jwje jeje. eeje jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj eje ejjq ejj wjwjej ejjw jwje wjwj eje jfhej e e rerewjjweje. jfhej e jwje wjwj rewrewrewre re je jejjjjej je jeje. eeje jejeejej e je jeje. eeje jej eje jfhej e jwje jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj wjwj eje jejeejeje rerew rewrewrewre re ejjw e jejowoe j 39 ejj wjwjej ejjq ejj je ejjq ejj wjwjej eejejjweje. jfhejeejejjjjej je jeje. eeje jeje. je jejjjjej jejeejej ewjwj jwje jejowoe j 39 ejj je ejjq jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj wjwjej ejjw jjweje. jfhej e ejjq ejj wjwjej je jejjjjej e rerew rewrewrewre re jwje wjwj je je jeje. eejeeje jejeejej e rerew rewrewrewre re jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj je jeje. eeje jej ejjq ejj wjwjej je jejjjjej jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj ejjq ejj wjwjej je jejjjjej je

Options for national participation Overview l +1. Offline Participation (email, fax, etc. ) – May be appropriate in absence of reliable computer hardware and software – Not preferable because of difficulties with: • Validation of information (by the SCBD rather than the BCH-NFP) • Timeliness (e. g. , Article 11. 1 decisions must be registered within 15 days; delays in retrieval of information) • Removes ownership and control of information

Options for national participation Mixing options l Different options may be chosen for different sources or type of information. – E. g. The BCH Crawler (option 3) may be used to submit information on decisions to the BCH while the BCH Management Center is used to enter other types of information such as Competent National Authorities and Laws and Regulations.

Options for national participation Mixing options – Scenario Canadian Generic Web Site (GWS) BCH Management Centre BCH Central Portal National Web Site based on GWS XML Op tion 4 XML XML XML BCH DB O pt io n 1 BCH Web Service jfhej e jwje wjwj eje je jejjjjej je jeje. eeje jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj ejjq ejj wjwjej ejjw jjweje. jfhej e jwje wjwj eje e rerew rewrewrewre re je jeje. eeje jejeejej e jejowoe j 39 ejj ejjq ejj wjwjej je jejjjjej je • In this scenario, the BCH Central Portal pushes the information to the Web Site.

Conclusion l No solution is better than others l The best option depends on • the needs – how much information you have and; – how often you need to update your information • the assets – existing databases – platform used (windows, unix, etc. ) • actual and future resources – IT knowledge – financial resources l Making the right choice is primordial

Questions? NOT FOR CIRCULATION This presentation is available for download at: http: //bch. biodiv. org/presentations/bangkok/natopt 1. ppt