Module 5 Common Formats and Controlled Vocabulaires

This Module will discuss the importance and use of common formats and controlled vocabularies in the development of information exchange systems and national CHM websites.

I. The Importance of Using Common Formats

What are Common Formats?

Usually, common formats refer to a standardized way to organize and present information. Indeed, recommendations for harmonization of national reporting (see: Synthesis of Information Contained in National Reports on the Implementation of the Convention, UNEP/CBD/COP/4/11) recommended the use of common formats so that data and information found in national reports:

• Are complementary (non-overlapping), so that information is provided only once and in one consistent format;
• Serve the needs of more than one Convention;
• Form a subset of national biodiversity information management products (i.e., part of the input to national planning and policy development);
• Are produced in a cycle which suits national requirements and that is in harmony with the reporting cycles of the conventions.

It was also recommended that national reports be developed through a process supported by harmonized guidelines, nomenclature and thesauri, as well as recommended good practices and information management methodologies. In fact, one of the final recommendations was to request the SBSTTA at its fourth meeting to advise the Conference of the Parties at its fifth meeting on how to improve the reporting process, through, first, guidelines on format, style, length and treatment that ensure comparability between reports and, second, options for the harmonization of reporting under this Convention with that under other relevant instruments and processes. The common format for use in the drafting of the second national report was the result of this process.

Basically, common formats specify how to present and organize certain categories of information. For example, drawing from the experiences of the first national reports, the Conference of the Parties at its fifth meeting recommended that Parties adhere to a common format when drafting their second national reports. This experience was also instrumental in the development of common formats for thematic national reports.

In summary, common formats can:

• Present information from many different sources in a structured standardized way;
• Use descriptors to link similar or complementary information regardless of location or language
• Facilitate the indexing, searching and retrieving of information received from may different sources.

Why are common formats important?

Common formats provide an efficient and easy-to-use method to structure and organize information. For example, a given document can be divided, organized or structured according to sections or categories (title, author, jurisdiction, country, etc.). Each category can then be described by a term chosen from a controlled vocabulary (see below). And because terms from controlled vocabularies are established, it is possible to index the information. This in turn offers users the opportunity to use search engines to search and locate information.

Without common formats, it would be difficult to analyze the second national reports. The creation of search mechanisms would be time consuming; it would be necessary to search the entire document for the needed information. Imagine the difficulty when using multiple languages. Even more, information located on remote websites could not be effectively integrated into the system. Computer systems need to adhere to common protocols and formats to facilitate the exchange of information. However, because information in the second national reports is structured according to an agreed upon common format, it became possible to develop the Second National Reports Analyzer, an electronic tool which searches through established categories of information and compares the results.

This is why there has been so much emphasis on the use of common formats in national reporting. The success of this approach is being applied to other information categories, particularly those available in the Biosafety Clearing-House.