Options for National Participation Biosafety Clearing-House - Training Workshop Montreal, May 2005 Philippe Leblond Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity

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

The Cartagena Protocol (Quick recap) Origins –Large consensus of the international community on the necessity to protect biological diversity and human health from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. Earth Summit (Rio, June 1992) –Principle 15 of Rio Declaration on Environment and Development: Precautionary approach

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

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

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

Common Formats (2/2) The BCH common formats are based on Protocol where possible. –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 Again, data originates from many sources, provided in different languages, resides in different locations. The BCH use predefined list of terms and related synonyms used in a specific context –E.g. Organism names, subject areas, country names Where possible, BCH uses terms taken from established multi- lingual thesauruses –AGROVOC, ENVOC, and others BCH is multilingual, translations allow searching in six official UN languages –Records remain in original language

Common Formats and Vocabularies Whatever the chosen option for national participation, conformance to Common Formats and Controlled Vocabularies is required. 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 1. BCH Management Centre 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. Semantic Semantic SemanticRepresent.Technical 2. Simple nBCH 3. BCH Crawler 4. BCH Web Service 1. Management Center Semantic Represent. Complexity

Options for national participation Overview 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 Pros 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 Cons Cons –Requires a reliable internet connection –Records have to be entered manually

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

Options for national participation Overview Pros Pros –Easy to use –Does not require a stable internet connection –Information is hosted locally Cons Cons –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 Overview 3. BCH Crawler 3. BCH Crawler Place your documents online on your web server and wait for the BCH to download them. Semantic Semantic SemanticRepresent.Technical 2. Simple nBCH 3. BCH Crawler 4. BCH Web Service 1. Management Center Semantic Represent. Complexity

Options for national participation Overview Pros Pros –Allow interoperability with existing databases –Relatively easy to implement –Information is hosted locally Cons Cons –Requires a National Web Site –Requires a stable internet connectivity –Requires some IT knowledge –Requires development –Publishing of information may be delayed (about 24h) –Party is responsible for maintenance, backups, etc.

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

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

Options for national participation Overview +1. Offline Participation ( , fax, etc.) +1. Offline Participation ( , 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 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 Scenarios Information is entered once National Web Site BCH Management Centre BCH Central Portal BCH DB Option 1 Information is entered twice

Simple nBCH Simple nBCH (MS Access) (MS Access) Options for national participation Scenarios Information is entered once National Web Site BCH Central Portal BCH DB Option 2 MDBMDB

National National Applications Applications Existing Databases Options for national participation Scenarios National Web Site BCH DB BCH Crawler BCH Central Portal BCH DB XMLXML XMLXML XMLXML Option 3 DBDB DBDB In this scenario, the BCH pulls the information from the National Web Site.In this scenario, the BCH pulls the information from the National Web Site. The BCH pulls the information on a regular basis to check for any updatesThe BCH pulls the information on a regular basis to check for any updates XMLXML XMLXML XMLXML

National National Applications Applications Existing Databases Options for national participation Scenarios National Web Site BCH DB BCH Web Service BCH Central Portal BCH DB Option 4 DBDB DBDB In this scenario, the National Web Site pushes the information to the BCH.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.The National Web Site has the control of when the information is updated.

Conclusion National options for participation –No solution is better than others –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

Review Questions