Newsletter Cites

CITES WorldOfficial Newsletter of the Parties

Convention on International Tradein Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

Issue Number 18 – July 2009

ISSN 1564-9164

CITES and the advent ofelectronic permitting

The advent of new information and communicationtechnologies, commonly referred to as ICTs, isimpacting on the evolution of CITES in a variety ofways. The increasing dependence of Parties on theavailability of timely trade data to assist in decisionmaking and policy development should not beunderestimated. For example, one of the inevitabledrawbacks regarding the usefulness of the CITESTrade Database is the interval between reporting ofdata and its public availability.

Other areas where Parties have turned to new ICTs togain efficiency are in the fight against criminal acti-vities and illegal wildlife trade; the prompt executionof administrative procedures, particularly withregard to wildlife trade of economic significance; andthe alignment of CITES administrative procedureswith new developments in electronic commerce andCustoms controls and requirements.

It is within this context that, through the adoption ofDecisions 14.55 to 14.57, Parties have recognizedthe need for harmonizing projects related to electronicCITES permits and certificates. Parties also recognize

the need for harmonization with initiatives related toelectronic commerce and Customs, especially thoseinitiatives related to or promoted by the Single Win-dow environment, the World Customs Organization(WCO) and the United Nations Centre for Trade Faci-litation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT).

This issue of CITES World offers Parties a generalintroduction to many of these subjects. The firstarticle describes efforts by the ManagementAuthorities of Switzerland and the United Kingdomto implement a joint pilot project to exchangeelectronic CITES permit data. Many of the lessonslearned in this project are being used by the CITESStanding Committee’s Working Group onInformation Technologies and Electronic Systemsand the Secretariat in the development of theupcoming CITES toolkit on electronic permitting.

In the second article, the Management Authority ofThailand presents an overview of its CITESelectronic permitting system. Parties will beinterested in learning how the Thai ManagementAuthority succeeded in linking its project withrelevant initiatives such as the Single Windowenvironment, the WCO data model and re-commendations from UN/CEFACT. Indeed, theThai e-permitting project clearly exemplifies effortsby Parties to implement a CITES e-permitting systemthat facilitates electronic commerce and developse-government solutions.

A project funded by the European Commission tofacilitate the expedition, electronic exchange orverification of CITES-Permit data amongManagement Authorities by the UNEP WorldConservation Monitoring Centre is the subject of thethird article. This mechanism will facilitate theelectronic exchange or verification of CITES-permitdata among Management Authorities.

The fourth article by consultants assisting theSecretariat in developing the CITES toolkit onelectronic permitting describes current developmentsinfluencing implementation of systems to facilitateelectronic commerce. The article also identifies themany different global initiatives which have impacteddirectly on the development of the CITES toolkit onelectronic permitting.

CITES and the advent of electronic permitting

Electronic permitting - a view from the Swiss andUnited Kingdom Management Authorities

The development and implementation of electronicpermitting systems in Thailand

Expediting electronic exchange of permit dataamong CITES Authorities – a pilot project

International Trade and a CITES e-PermittingStandard

IATA E-FREIGHT: Taking the paper out of aircargo

The United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitationand Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) andelectronic documents

A useful glossary of terms and acronyms

Introduction to CITES for Customs on CD-ROM

INSI

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World – Official Newsletter of the Parties Issue 18

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In the fifth article, the International Air TransportAssociation (IATA) presents its project to implementan electronic freight project (commonly referred toas “IATA e-freight”). The project is replacing paperdocuments with electronic messages, therebyreducing costs, improving transit times, ensuring dataaccuracy and increasing the competitiveness ofairfreight. The CITES Secretariat has consultedclosely with IATA to learn from its experiences andto take account of e-freight recommendations in theCITES project.

The final article depicts the work of UN/CEFACTto promote the adoption of protocols and standardsto facilitate electronic commerce. Indeed, UN/CEFACT aims to develop and promote simple,transparent and effective processes for globalcommerce (including related government-to-businessand government-to-government processes).

This issue of CITES World, therefore, providesParties with an overview of the many separate butinextricably linked issues related to the developmentof national electronic permitting systems. Perhapsthe most important lesson learned from this projectis that CITES must link more effectively its efforts toregulate international trade in CITES-listed specieswith international standards and initiatives relatedto electronic commerce. This will allow CITES tocontinue its role as the primary global instrumentensuring that international trade in specimens of wildanimals and plants does not threaten their survival.

Marcos SilvaSenior Capacity Building OfficerCITES SecretariatE-mail: [email protected]

Electronic permitting - a viewfrom the Swiss and UnitedKingdom ManagementAuthorities

The Swiss and United Kingdom CITES ManagementAuthorities are fortunate enough to be in a positionto engage in a proposed bilateral trial using electronicmeans to exchange CITES permits. In some ways,the position between Switzerland and the UnitedKingdom was ideal for such purposes as there areseveral factors which eased the task facing bothcountries:

√ There is a reasonable amount of trade betweenthe two Parties;

√ The trade mostly consists of luxury leathergoods (watch straps, etc.);

√ The Swiss Management Authority is alreadyusing e-permitting and has all the Internetstructure set up and working, which hasallowed the United Kingdom to learn quicklyfrom it and follow its lead;

√ Both countries and the CITES Secretariat wereeasily accessible, therefore joint meetings tomove the project forward were possible withinreasonable costs; and

√ The United Kingdom is in the fortunateposition of being backed both financially andtechnically by the corporate structure ofAnimal Health (the agency which hosts thelicensing element of the United KingdomCITES Management Authority).

This made the task easier but there were, and still are,challenges to overcome. The project started when theCITES Secretariat explained its ideas for such aproject to the Swiss and United Kingdom Manage-ment Authorities at the 57th meeting of the Stan-ding Committee in July 2008. The project movedforward when the United Kingdom, the CITESSecretariat, and Italy (Chair of the Working Groupon Information Technologies and Electronic Systems,dealing with electronic permits) attended a meetingin Bern hosted by the Swiss Management Authority.Since that date, the United Kingdom has also hosteda meeting in Bristol and following innumerablee-mails, project documents and telephone calls wenow have a firm outline of what we wish to achieve.

Our objective is to pilot e-permitting for CITESpermits and certificates. This will allow the CITESSecretariat to build up a set of standards and toolswhich will allow Parties to follow the pilot withbilateral projects of their own that follow a com-mon set of rules and security standards, andappropriate exchange file format. This last point isextremely important because other internationalprotocols governing the exchange of electronicinformation relating to international trade have to besatisfied and concepts such as the International TradeSingle Window and the World Customs Organizationdata model require common standards for all tradeto be adopted if they are to achieve the requiredbenefits.


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Further technical support for the United Kingdomelement of the project has been given by the UNEPWorld Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and their enthusiastic support has also beena key component in our contribution.

The United Kingdom and Switzerland hope that, as aresult of the trial, they will have set up proceduresthat will allow:

√ the production of CITES import/export/re-export permits and certificates allowing themovement of goods under CITES permit/certificates to pass between the Swiss andUnited Kingdom Management Authorities inan electronic format; and

√ the “return” information recording tradewhich actually took place to be transferredfrom border control authorities toManagement Authorities in electronic format.

The trial will also result in:

√ the establishment of standards, formats andsecurity standards which will allow the CITESSecretariat to draft a series of best practices,tools and recommendations for presentationat the 15th meeting of the Conference of theParties (CoP15) as a draft resolution;

√ the submission of a draft version of ResolutionConf. 12.3 (Rev. CoP14);

√ contacts made with other relevantinternational organizations to ensurecompatible e-standards for CITES trade; and

√ the provision of oversight and conclusionsdrawn from this project to the CITESSecretariat.

The benefits to be drawn from this trial include:

√ the facilitation of faster and more efficienttrade in CITES species;

√ CITES permitting systems that are com-patible with the World Customs Orga-nization’s vision of a paperless tradeenvironment;

√ providing a CITES “lead” to demonstrate toother Parties that electronic transfer of CITEStrade data is both possible and desirable;

√ Providing communications that are of a betterquality and more secure between governmentagencies of the trading partners;

√ Developing methods to enable Parties todeliver yearly reports on a real-time basis; and

√ reducing the opportunities for paper-basedfraudulent trade.

We look forward to discussing the concept, theprogress and the pitfalls with our CITES colleaguesat the 58th meeting of the Standing Committee inJuly 2009, and at the 15th meeting of the Conferenceof the Parties in early 2010.

Dr. Mathias LörtscherVeterinary OfficeInternational AffairsHead CITES Management Authority SwitzerlandSchwarzenburgstr. 155, CH-3003-BernE-mail: [email protected]

Mr. John HounslowHead of UK CITES Management Authority (Licensing andCompliance)Animal HealthTemple Quay House2 The SquareTemple QuayBristol, UKBS1 6EBE-mail: [email protected]

The development andimplementation of electronicpermitting systems inThailand

The Conference of the Parties (CoP), at its13th meeting (Bangkok, 2004), directed the StandingCommittee to establish a Working Group to explorefurther the use of information technology or electronicsystems to enhance the implementation of CITES(Decision 13.69). The mandate of the WorkingGroup was extended at CoP14 (Decision 14.55) tocollaborate with the Secretariat in drafting guidelineson the use of common information exchange formats,protocols and standards and electronic signatures,among other tasks. The CITES ManagementAuthority of Thailand is a member of the WorkingGroup and has assisted the Secretariat with thedevelopment of the CITES e-permit toolkit.


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Thailand is an exporting country, and it realizes thattrade logistics are a key factor contributing to itsnational competitiveness in the global marketplace.Thailand has a vision to become a world class logistichub for the Indochina region, and enhancement oftrade facilitation is one of major items in the strategicagenda to achieve this goal.

Within this context, the Single-Window paperless,or e-Logistic initiative, is a flagship programme underthis strategic agenda. Moreover, the project todevelop CITES electronic permits is perceived to bean component of the Single-Window. Basically, aSingle Window may be defined as a platform thatconnects information systems to enable paperlesstrade.

At the present time, completion of procedures toexport goods from Thailand requires several days.To deal with this problem, many government agenciesand some companies in the private sector havedeveloped databases to facilitate trade and transferdata electronically. However, due to the large varietyof database models and platforms, multiple entry ofdata when completing export procedures is stillrequired and this hinders efforts to reduce the numberof days required to process trade documents.

To deal with the above problem, the Ministry ofInformation and Communication Technology(MICT) and other government agencies relating toimport and export are speeding up the developmentof their back-end information and technology systemsalong with the development of their cross-agency dataand information interoperability. Such informationand data interoperability will be based on ebXMLprotocols (Electronic Business using eXtensibleMarkup Language — a modular suite of specificationsthat enables companies to conduct business over theInternet) with digital signatures. This will allow for aseamless connection and data integration with theNational Single Window (NSW) exchange hubhosted by the Royal Thai Customs Department.

The Ministry of Information and CommunicationTechnology allocated a budget to the governmentagencies involved in import and export proceduresto develop their back-end information and technologyapplications and systems. These agencies include thethree CITES Management Authorities of Thailand:the Department of Agriculture, the Department ofFisheries and the Department of Natural Resources,which are responsible for exports and imports ofCITES-listed flora, aquatic animals and terrestrialanimals, respectively.

The harmonization of the different data elementspresent in CITES import/export permits andcertificates was based on the United Nationselectronic Trade Documents (UNeDocs) DataModelling process. The UNeDocs is a project of theUnited Nations that aims to become the worldelectronic trade document standard under UNauspices. UNedocs is a powerful migration tool frompaper to paperless environment.

Below are the steps initiated by Thailand to developCITES electronic permits that are harmonized withdevelopments under the Single Window:

1. Analysing the present work process to identify adocument in the flow using UN/CEFAT’sModelling Methodology and Unified ModellingLanguage (UML);

2. Adjusting the paper document to comply with thestandard of United Nation Layout key (UNLK);

3. Simplifying and harmonizing data element tostandardized dataset based on the World CustomsOrganization Data Model (Customs datarequirements), UneDocs (trade and transport datarequirements) and Data requirement from theAsia-Pacific region;

4. Transforming data to a Data Model and an XMLSchema by a programmer;

5. Creating a prototype model.

Currently, the Management Authorities for aquaticanimals and flora are considering the prototype modeland its underlying workflow, while the ManagementAuthority for terrestrial animals is reviewing theprocess to issue e-permits. This work is almostcompleted with the step of exchanging data withCustoms being the last to be completed.

The Management Authority for flora plans tocomplete this project by September 2009. We hopethat the advent of an electronic CITES permit systemwill be advantageous for stakeholders such asexporters and importers with regard to timereduction and cost savings. Finally, we also believethat this project will offer CITES officers the benefitof more efficient administering, tracing andsafeguarding of CITES data.

Ms Duangduen Sripotar, Department of Agriculture, PlantVarieties Protection Division, International Trade of Plants underthe Conventions Sub-divisionChatuchak, BANGKOK 10900 ThailandEmail: [email protected]


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Expediting electronic exchangeof permit data among CITESAuthorities – a pilot project

Background

Parties to CITES are requested by ResolutionConf. 11.17 (Rev. CoP14) to submit their annualreports, by 31 October following the year for whichthey are due. This deadline provides sufficient timefor the preparation of national reports notwith-standing the type of information-managementmechanism used by Management Authorities.

Timely verification of permit data, however, is oftennecessary for Management Authorities to dischargetheir duties effectively and ensure that any inadequateuse of permits is addressed promptly. Therefore, thelength of time that may elapse between the issuanceof a permit and the time in which the trade is reported(up to 22 months) imposes practical difficulties toManagement Authorities that require informationfrom permits issued by other Parties. Currently,permit data not yet published in annual reports canonly be obtained bilaterally between Parties. Thiscan lead to a multiplication of efforts andadministrative costs.

CITES Resolution Conf. 11.17 (Rev. CoP14) alsourges every Party to consider whether the preparationof its reports could be computerized and whether thesubmission of such reports could be made inelectronic format. However, the electronic systems(and, to an extent, the standards) used by the Partiesto manage information can be quite varied. Thiscreates practical difficulties for the exchange of dataamong Management Authorities.

Thus, with financial support from the EuropeanCommission and the United Kingdom, UNEP-WCMC is currently developing a mechanism tofacilitate the expedition, electronic exchange orverification of CITES-permit data amongManagement Authorities. The mechanism is beingdeveloped so that participating ManagementAuthorities can exchange data regardless of the typeof information-management system they use. Thismechanism is being developed in collaboration withthe e-permit CITES working group and the CITESSecretariat, pursuant to Decision 14.57. ThisWorking Group is developing standards for dataelectronic exchange for consideration at the

15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties for andadoption by the CITES community.

General features

• The system is designed to operate over theInternet. It will be based on standards beingdeveloped by the CITES Electronic PermitWorking Group and the CITES Secretariat.These standards will allow Parties to accesspermit information automatically from thenational information systems and willfacilitate its exchange among Parties. Datawill be pulled regularly from the databases ofthose Management Authorities and stored ina database at UNEP-WCMC.

• Parties not yet able to use Web services wouldonly be required to:

a) have an email account and check it at least once a day; and

b) to have access to the Internet and the World Wide Web.

• Participating Authorities will be required toregister in the system so that their electronicidentity can be confirmed.

• The data to be exchanged among authoritieswill only comprise the information submittedin annual reports to CITES.

Permit-data exchange or verification:

The enquiring authority will submit a query througha secure webpage available through UNEP-WCMC’swebsite, using the information elements known bythe enquiring authority about that permit (e.g. permitnumber, issuing Party, species name, etc.).

The system will then first check whether the dataexist already in the central database at UNEP-WCMC(the data in permits issued by Parties able to use Webservices should already be available in the system).If the details of that permit are not available in thecentral database, an automatic email message will besent to the permit-issuing authority requesting it eitherto confirm the details known by the enquiringauthority or to provide any missing details.

If all that is required from the permit-issuing authorityis to confirm that the permit details are valid, thepermit-issuing authority will be able to do so simplyby clicking on a hyperlink which will be available in


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the automatic email. This will dispatch an automaticresponse back to the central database at UNEP-WCMC and to the enquiring authority, confirmingthe data.

If, instead, any additional data are needed, these maybe entered in a standard form available through asecure interface and sent back to the central systemand to the enquiring authority.

If no response is received from the permit-issuingauthority, the system will send reminders after aspecified deadline, to ensure that exchange remainsexpeditious.

Once a response is received from the permit-issuingauthority, the data will be stored in the central databaseand will be available for consultation by others, thusavoiding multiple interactions with the issuingauthority. If so desired, the issuing authority may benotified by email on each and every instance in whichtheir permit data are queried by other users.

Thus, the project will enable three modes (or routes)of data exchange and permit-data verification amongParties to CITES, namely:

A) An automated route (figure 1), by whichManagement Authorities with systems capableof automatic data exchange (e.g. via XML)

establish a protocol with UNEP-WCMC to either‘push’ their data into the central CITES Tradedatabase, or have their data ‘pulled’ from theirsystem by UNEP-WCMC, at regular intervals.Alternatively, if so desired by the issuingauthority, as a variation to this route, data caninstead be exchanged on a permit-by-permit basis,i.e. when specifically requested by a user, usingthe same automated protocol.

B) A standardized email-based route (figure 2),through which Management Authorities unableat present to exchange data automatically, canvalidate permit data through a ‘single click’interface, on a case-by-case basis; and

C) Data provision by batch (figure 3), through whichan officer of the Management Authority providespermit data in regular batches (via email, or byuploading the data file through a secure Internetinterface), which are then used to serve other usersof the system (thus avoiding the case-by-casevalidation approach in route B).

This third route is therefore intended to provide themeans by which a National Authority currentlyunable to exchange data automatically (i.e. not ableto opt for route A), may instead use UNEP-WCMC’sserver infrastructure to attain the same end.

Figure 1: Route A – Automated data provision


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Figure 2: Route B – Case-by-case e-mail-based data provision

Figure 3: Route C – Batch data provision


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The system is being designed primarily with theintention of facilitating the exchange of the same datathat are normally provided in annual reports to CITESand which are therefore intended for the publicdomain. Nonetheless, access will be limited toCITES Management Authorities only, and the systemwill be password-protected and will observeappropriate security standards consistent with theprotection of commercial and personal datatransmitted via the Internet.

UNEP-WCMC would be grateful for any commentsand suggestions from national ManagementAuthorities and other readers of CITES World withregards to the development of any of the exchangeroutes created by this mechanism. Management

International trade and aCITES e-permitting standard

E-permitting, e-sanitary, e-Customs, e-logistics,e-ticketing, e-catalog, e-government, e-visa,e-tendering, e-procurement, e-invoicing, e-business,today everything seems to be prefaced with an ‘e’!What then does this ‘e’ stand for and what could thismean in the context of the development andapplication of CITES e-permitting recom-mendations? This article aims to provide someanswers to these questions.

These ‘e’s symbolize a global trend inadministrations, organizations and businesses tobecome increasingly paper-free in order to reducecosts, streamline processes and meet politicalobjectives such as security, control, governance andcompliance. This is not a new concept as shown bythe use of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) duringthe last 30 years. However, in the Internet age ofWeb services1 and interactive browser applications,the ‘e’ has become the ‘new’ EDI.

In addition to the economic and political objectivesbehind many of these initiatives, there are also ‘green’objectives such as decreasing the environmentalfootprint, facilitating developing economies to de-

ploy modern technologies, increasing cargo securitymeasures, implementing better risk management,controlling infectious diseases and, in the case ofCITES, facilitating legal trade in CITES-listedspecies.

The concept behind CITES e-permitting is not newas there are already a number of established nationalBusiness to Government (B2G) CITES electronicpermitting solutions. It must be recognized, however,that most of these solutions are not interoperable(i.e. data are in different formats and cannot beexchanged easily) and they invariably require thatdata be keyed in manually by the submitter, usuallythrough a Web page.

The CITES Secretariat, in cooperation with theWorking Group on the Use of InformationTechnologies and Electronic Systems, is preparing atoolkit on electronic permitting systems, to assistParties with the implementation of electronicpermitting systems. The toolkit includes, inter alia,advice on the use of common information exchangeformats, protocols and standards for use withelectronic permitting systems; advice on the use ofelectronic signatures and other electronic securitymeasures; and information on new developments inthe use of electronic documents by relevantorganizations.

Authorities can also communicate at any point theirinterest in participating in the pilot phase of thismechanism by sending a note to:

Gerardo FragosoHead - Species ProgrammeUnited Nations Environment Programme - World ConservationMonitoring Centre219 Huntingdon RoadCambridge CB3 0DL, United KingdomTel.: +44 (0)1223 277314, Fax.: +44 (0)1223 277136Email: [email protected]

Or to

Ackbar JooliaSenior Informatics Officer – Species ProgrammeTel.: +44 (0)1223 277314, Fax.: +44 (0)1223 277136Email: [email protected]

© WCMC

United Nations Environment Programme

World Conservation Monitoring Centre


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1 A Web service (also Web Service, Webservice) is defined by theWorld Wide Web Consortium (W3C) as “a software systemdesigned to support interoperable machine-to-machine interactionover a network”.

2 XML s chemas express shared vocabularies and allow machinesto carry out rules made by people. They provide a means fordefining the structure, content and semantics of XML documents.

The complexity of documentary requirementsand the procedures behind them are costly for tra-ders and have serious repercussions on nationalexternal trade statistics. For example, in Germany,it takes three days to prepare documents, and a furtherthree days for transportation and handling, Cus-toms clearance and control, and port/ter-minal handling. In India, these processes take27 days (see: http://www.doingbusiness.com).

The complexities of international trade are the resultof several factors ranging from the delicate balancebetween sales and transport contracts, to cross-borderclearance procedures and the differences among legalrequirements. International conventions and regula-tions, including CITES, are implemented throughthe processing of regulatory documents at theinternatio-nal, regional, national or even country sub-division levels. Such processing will be facilitatedthrough the adoption of a harmonized data exchangesystem between Parties.

The e-permitting toolkit will introduce a datainterchange standard in the form of a common XML(eXtensible Markup Language) schema2 definitionwhich can be adopted by all CITES Parties. This willenable the possibility of harmonized Government-to-Government (G2G) exchange of CITES data.

CITES is one regulatory instrument among manyother international conventions and regulations thatcontrol cross-border trade, e.g. dangerous goodsregulations, advanced security measures, embargocontrols, weapons, cultural goods, and Customsprocedures. These different con-ventions increasinglyoffer electronic interfaces for traders to submit therequired information to the relevantauthorities. The majority of theseelectronic interfaces are developedindependently of one another and aretherefore unable to exchange dataefficiently. This has a considerablenegative impact on traders, because asingle consignment of goods will oftenneed to comply with more than one ofthese currently independent e-systems.Traders, therefore, are required torepeat the manual entry of the sameconsignment-based trade data numeroustimes. The result is that new electroniccommunication systems may notalleviate delays or problems related toprocessing, and may even createadditional burdens.

Recent studies demonstrate that thisgrowth of disparate regulatory e-systemsis very inefficient for both the senders and receivers.For example, the Australian Single Data Set (SDS)project found that 22 different agencies collect thename of the exporter. These names are used 212 timeson 118 forms, are described in 61 different ways, andare required in 16 different formats ranging from 20to 300 characters in length. The Australian SDSproject has standardized all of those to one data elementof 35 characters.

Each of the current independent e-systems offers be-nefits to the unique collector of the regulatory tradedata. If the migration from paper-based to electronicsystems does not offer benefits to the sender, i.e. tothe trader, they will likely be hesitant to adopt andinvest in such systems.

The effects of regulatory requirements on traderscan be illustrated by the export of frozen shrimpsfrom Thailand, which involves 15 agencies and30 documents. The trade involves 788 data elements,most of which have to be re-typed 30 times (SPECA-ASEAN Capacity Building Workshop on TradeFacilitation, Bangkok April 2007).

SPECA-ASEAN Capacity Building Workshop on Trade Facilitation, Bangkok April 2007


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The cross-border trade conventions and regulationsare most commonly implemented independentlyfrom one another. In practice, their processes areconnected through their documentary reportingrequirements which cover many identical elementsof trade data. For example, the major cross-bordergovernment agencies are the national Customsauthorities. It is normal practice that the presentationof all required documents be a requisite for thecompletion of a Customs procedure. This means that,whenever required, documents like CITES permitsor certificates, certificates of origin or phytosanitarycertificates are necessary for goods clearance. Anydelays due to the lack of timely document presentationmay be expensive for the traders and, also, for theirgovernments.

Whilst cross-border processing of primary documentshas improved in the last 10 years, allowing suchprocesses to be completed in a more timely fashion,the relative importance of the ‘secondary’ documentsand their processing has increased in parallel. Tradershave, therefore, a strong interest in decreasing theprocessing time required for these secondarydocuments as they may adversely affect the speed ofthe entire process in a critical and negative manner.

Given the above, the primary challenge facinggovernments to facilitate trade may be summarizedas follows: how can the e-systems from manydifferent governmental agencies [the World CustomsOrganization (WCO) estimates that there are 5000governmental agencies worldwide with interest incross-border data] responsible for or interested incross-border cargo clearances be harmonized toensure greater efficiency?

The ‘Single Window’ concept offers a solution.

The United Nations Economic Com-mission for Europe (UNECE) RecommendationNumber 33 (http://www.unece.org/cefact/recommendations/rec33/rec33_trd352e.pdf) callson governments to establish Single Windows which:

√ Allow traders to lodge standardizedinformation and documents through a singleentry point to fulfil all import, export, andtransit-related regulatory requirements;

√ Allow that each data element to be submittedonce electronically;

√ Allow government agencies to shareinformation on international trade; and

√ Provide coordinated controls and inspectionsby the various regulatory authorities.

A Single Window can be public (such as agovernmental Single Window) or private (such as aport or airport community system) or a combinationthrough a private and public partnership arrangement.

Single Window systems eliminate duplication of datathrough the rationalization and harmonization oftrade data required across all relevant governmentalagencies. They also streamline and align proceduresthrough the integration, where possible, of regulatoryprocesses such as physical inspections, documentaryrequirements, etc.

Single Window systems offer the benefit of a singleinterface to government. However, the eliminationof data duplication across government agenciesrequires investments in detailed preparatory harmo-nization and rationalization. Such investments havetime and cost implications, but they should lead tosignificant improvements in processing time andcontrols. Many countries have established electronicCustoms solutions, and most major trading ports andairports have electronic Single Window-likecommunity systems already in place.

The CITES e-permitting recommendations to bediscussed at the 15th meeting of the Conference ofthe Parties (Doha, March 2010), will be based onand aligned with all relevant global data exchangestandards required for implementation of a SingleWindow environment. If adopted, this alignment ofthe CITES e-permitting standards with the SingleWindow environment will benefit CITES traders andParties by reducing entrance barriers for traders. Inaddition, the CITES community can recommend theadoption of electronic data submission solutions byliaising with related regulatory agencies to harmonizetheir respective ‘e’ solutions together (for instance,by aligning e-CERT (electronic PhytosanitaryCertificates) and e-CoO (electronic Certificates ofOrigin) with CITES e-permits and e-certificates).

The CITES e-permitting toolkit will provide detailedinformation on an e-permitting data model. Thismodel is a subset of the ebXML (Electronic Businessusing eXtensible Markup Language) compliant UN/CEFACT Buy-Ship-Pay reference data model and itwill document the pedigree of standards on which itis based. The draft toolkit will be made available onthe CITES website sometime in the summer of 2009.

In summary, the regulatory framework encompassinginternational trade is becoming increasingly


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dependent on ‘e’ solutions. There is now a proliferation of ‘e’ solutions, and the introduction of a CITES e-permitting standard represents an important development for CITES by providing the basis for harmonized electronicdata collection and G2G data exchange solutions as well as providing unique opportunities for benefits sharedamong traders and related government agencies. These Single Window environments for international trade offersignificant additional future benefits to CITES Parties and to the CITES trading community. Indeed, the CITESe-permitting toolkit will assist greatly Parties with the implementation of electronic permits and certificates at thenational level.

Mr. Michael DillCEOGEFEG mbHStorkower Strasse 20710369 BerlinEmail: [email protected]

Ms Sue ProbertSEPIAeb LtdUKLead Editor of UNCEFACT Core ComponentLibraryEmail: [email protected]

IATA e-freight: Taking thepaper out of air cargo

What is it?

The airfreight supply chain faces increasingchallenges:

√ Customers want faster transit times, lowercosts and more reliability

√ Regulators want more security and demandmore information

√ Slow economic growth means less revenue

Today the air cargo industry still relies on paper-basedprocesses to support the movement of freight. Theaverage airfreight shipment generates up to30 different paper documents – increasing the cost ofairfreight and lengthening transport times.

IATA e-freight is an initiative for the air cargo supplychain, by the air cargo supply chain. It involvescarriers, freight forwarders, ground handlers,shippers, customs brokers and Customs authorities.It replaces paper documents with electronic mes-sages, reducing costs, improving transit times,accuracy and the competitiveness of airfreight.

Thirteen documents are already available aselectronic messages:

1. Invoice2. Packing List3. Certificate of Origin (where legally feasible)4. House Waybill5. House Manifest6. Master Air Waybill7. Flight Manifest8. Export Goods Declaration9. Customs Release Export10.Export Cargo Declaration11.Import Cargo Declaration12.Import Goods Declaration13.Customs Release Import

© IATA

International Air TransportAssociation

IATA is an international trade body, createdsome 60 years ago by a group of airlines.Today, IATA represents some 230 airlinescomprising 93% of scheduled internationalair traffic. The organisation also represents,leads and serves the airline industry ingeneral.

IATA’s aim is to help airlines help themselvesby simplifying processes and increasingpassenger convenience while reducing costsand improving efficiency. IATA ensures thatpeople and goods can move around the globalairline network as easily as if they were on asingle airline in a single country. In addition,it provides essential professional support toall industry stakeholders with a wide rangeof products and expert services, such aspublications, training and consulting. IATA’sfinancial systems also help carriers and thetravel industry maximise revenues.


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Key Benefits

√ Lower costs

• Up to US$4.9 billion in annual net savings forthe air cargo supply chain

√ Faster supply chain transit time

• Reduced end-to-end cycle time by an averageof 24 hours

√ Greater reliability and accuracy:

• One-time electronic data entry at point oforigin – reduces delays to shipments due toinaccurate or inconsistent data entry

• No shipment delayed because of missingdocumentation

√ Regulatory compliance

• All international and local regulations rela-ting to the provision of electronic documentsand data required by Customs, civil aviationand other regulatory authorities

Three additional electronic message standards willbe developed in 2009: the Shipper’s Letter ofInstructions, the Shipper’s Declaration for DangerousGoods and the Transfer Manifest.

By the end of 2010, 20 documents will be replacedwith electronic messages, and 64% of all papervolume will be removed.

Currently, IATA e-freight is live in 19 IATA e-freightlocations. The latest updates on live locations, airportsand stakeholders (airlines & freight forwarders) canbe accessed on the IATA e-freight website:www.iata.org/e-freight.

√ Increased security

• Electronic documents are only made availableto parties who require them for the completionof a shipment door to door transportation

√ Better tracking

• Data entered electronically gives organi-zations the opportunity to track shipment enroute – allowing the real-time status updates

√ Better for the environment

• Elimination of more than 7,800 tonnes ofpaper documents, the equivalent of 80 Boeing747 freighters.

Working towards international standards

The aim is to define cross-border, multi-modal andcross-industry standards to remove the paper. Eachof the paper documents in the scope of IATA e-freightis replaced by one or more standard electronicmessages with an “agreed international standard” asdefined by IATA, the United Nations Centre forTrade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) or the World Customs Organisation(WCO).

All new standard developments are based on UN/CEFACT standards (i.e. Core Component TechnicalSpecification & XML Naming and Design Rules).

In addition, integrated electronic message exchangeis a requirement to achieve the benefits of IATAe-freight. IT service providers were consulted via theIATA e-freight Vendor Action Group. They havealready started developing technical capabilities inorder to facilitate the transfer of electronic messagesusing these standards. These service providers willalso be able, for example, to map electronic messagesreceived by the shippers in one format into thestandard format so that shippers using a differentformat can still join IATA e-freight. Finally, serviceproviders will also make available internet-basedsolutions for small and medium enterprises to key inor upload relevant information and transmitelectronic messages.

The following table lists all paper-documents, whichhave been or will be replaced by an electronic messagewith an agreed international standard as defined byIATA, UN/CEFACT or WCO:

© IATA


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DOCUMENT TYPE ORGANISATION STANDARD MESSAGE

TRADE

1. Invoice

2. Packing List

3. Certificate of Origin

4. Dangerous Goods

5. Letter or Instruction

IATA

IATA

IATA

IATA

IATA

UN/CEFACT XML

UN/CEFACT XML

UN/CEFACT XML

UN/CEFACT XML

UN/CEFACT XML

Invoice

Packing List

Certificate of Origin

Work In Progress

Work In Progress

TRANSPORT

6. House Waybill

7. House Manifest

8. Master Air Waybill

Status Update

9. Flight Manifest

10. Transfer Manifest

IATA

IATA

IATA

IATA

IATA

IATA

CIMP & UN/CEFACT XML



CIMP

CIMP

CIMP

FZB

FHL

FWB

FSU

FFM

Work In Progress

CUSTOMS

11. Export Goods Declaration

12. Customs Release Export

13. Export Cargo Declaration

14. Import Cargo Declaration

15. Import Goods Declaration

16. Customs Release Import

WCO

WCO

WCO

WCO

WCO

WCO

EDIFACT

EDIFACT

EDIFACT

EDIFACT

EDIFACT

EDIFACT

WCODEC

WCORES

WCOCAR

WCOCAR

WCODEC

WCORES

IATA & CITES Cooperation

IATA wants to ensure that its e-freight standards meetshippers’ requirements, so that they can benefit fromcost and time savings offered by IATA e-freight. Thescope of IATA e-freight includes both general andspecial cargo, such as dangerous goods, live animals,and perishables.

IATA and CITES met recently to exchangeinformation on IATA e-freight and the CITESinitiative to develop a CITES permit in electronicbased on UN/CEFACT standards. IATA is veryinterested in the results of CITES investigations withthe relevant authorities into the possibility ofaccepting CITES e-permits, in lieu of paper, toaccompany the shipment of a particular species.IATA and CITES agreed to further discuss on thisopportunity which may result in including the CITESpermit in electronic format in the IATA e-freightscope for 2010.

Should you have any comments or question, pleasecontact Mr. Steve Smith, Project Director IATAe-freight ([email protected])

The United Nations Centrefor Trade Facilitation andElectronic Business (UN/CEFACT) and electronicdocuments

The United Nations Economic Commission forEurope (UNECE) develops standards and bestpractice for international trade. To carry out thiswork, UNECE has set up the United Nations Centrefor Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT). The policy directions and programme ofwork of UN/CEFACT are developed by itsintergovernmental Plenary, which meets once a yearin Geneva, Switzerland and reports to the UNECEstructure.

UN/CEFACT has as its objective to develop andpromote simple, transparent and effective processesfor global commerce (including related government-


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to-business and government-to-governmentprocesses). To achieve this objective, UN/CEFACTsupports activities dedicated to improving the abilityof business, trade and administrative organizations,from developed, developing and transitionaleconomies, to exchange products and relevantservices effectively. The principal focus is onfacilitating national and international transactions,through the simplification and harmonization ofprocesses, procedures and information flows.

From the time that goods are ordered until when theyare paid for, the buyer and seller are confronted withprocesses, procedures and associated informationexchanges that increase costs. Whether they arecreated by official authorities, such as Customs andsanitary authorities, or by private-sector actors, suchas insurance companies and banks, these additionalcosts can negatively affect an entire economy’scompetitiveness and attractiveness to traders andinvestors.

For example, goods move across borders only as fastas the “paper” information that precedes them. Thenumerous official procedures and requirements thatexporters and importers have to face add time andcost to trade transactions, and often deter business,especially small and medium-sized business, fromentering international markets. For landlockedcountries and countries distant from major markets,complex and inefficient procedures can be aparticular constraint, creating many additional costsand dramatically reducing the competitiveness oftheir goods on international markets.

Trade facilitation, as defined by UN/CEFACT,attempts to address such constraints throughout the“buy-ship-pay” cycle and make trade as easy andefficient as possible for both business andgovernment. It reduces costs, enhancescompetitiveness and contributes to the growth ofglobal commerce.

Today UN/CEFACT sees the key to achieving realbenefits from trade facilitation as being a strategy thatfirst works towards creating more efficient and betterdesigned procedures, and then towards facilitatingthese data flows with information technology.

UN/CEFACT also helps countries, particularly thosewith developing or transition economies, toimplement its standards and recommendations.Examples of this support include the developmentand promotion of Recommendations for SingleWindows for exports and imports, and the TradeFacilitation Implementation Guide.

Below are some brief descriptions of areas whereimportant new work is expected to be completed orstarted by UN/CEFACT during the near future.

Trade Facilitation Implementation Guide andassociated training

The Trade Facilitation Implementation Guide willbe a step-by-step guide for developing and transitioneconomy countries on how to implement tradefacilitation. The first draft of the guide will becompleted by mid 2009.

Recommendations for Single Windows

A new Recommendation on data simplification andharmonization, (Rec 34), is being developed inresponse to requests from Governments to have moreinformation on how to implement UNECERecommendation 33 on Single Windows for exportand import clearance and, in particular, on whatstandards to implement in a Single Window. Anotherrelated Recommendation (35) on legal issuesassociated with Single Windows is also beingdeveloped.

A complete Buy-Ship-Pay model and updatedCore Components Library

Important advances in web technology have nowreached the stage where it is possible for computersto take advantage of a broad-based “commonlanguage” that can be shared across different dataexchange standards and methods, opening up majornew horizons for improved efficiency. UN/CEFACTis uniquely positioned to provide the focal point fordeveloping this common language based on its longexperience in working with government and a widerange of industry groups, its global remit and itsextensive libraries of data definitions and codes(developed as a result of work on UN/EDIFACT).

This common language concept is being developedthrough the Buy-Ship-Pay model and the CCL. Inbrief, the Buy-Ship-Pay model (which consists ofmany linked models of individual processes)identifies the data to be exchanged. Work is done toensure that the data definitions are harmonized acrossthe different processes, and entries are then developedfor the CCL. The data definitions found in the CCLcan then be used as the basis of aligned paperdocuments, Extensible Markup Language (XML)schemas or UN/EDIFACT messages, and in thefuture, other formats as well.

Continues on page 16


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A useful glossary of terms and acronyms

B2B Business-to-Business refers to the concept that businesses can use Web technologies to exchange information and do business with each other.

B2G Business-to-Government refers to the concept that businesses and government agencies can use Web technologies to exchange information and do business with each other.

CCL Core Component Library is composed of semantic building blocks that represent the general types of business data in use today.

E-commerce (or EC)

Electronic commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services over the Internet, especially through the World Wide Web (WWW). E-commerce and e-business, a newer term, are often used interchangeably.

ebXML Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language is a modular suite of specifications enabling enterprises in any geographical location to conduct business over the Internet. It enables the global use of electronic business information in an interoperable, secure, and consistent manner by all trading partners.

eCERT Electronic sanitary and phytosanitary certificate

G2B Government-to-Business (G2B), similar to B2G, refers to the concept that government and business agencies can use Web technologies to exchange information and do business with each other.

G2G Government-to-Government refers to the concept that governments can use Web technologies to exchange information and transact with each other.

IATA International Air Transport Association

Interoperability The ability of two or more systems or components to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged.

ISO International Organization for Standardization

Protocol A set of formal rules describing how to transmit data, especially across a network.

Single Window concept

A facility that allows parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardized information and documents through a single entry point to fulfil all import, export, and transit-related regulatory requirements. If information is electronic, then data needs only be submitted once.

Standards Definitions or formats, or an agreed-upon set of specifications, that have been approved by a recognized standards organization.

UN/CEFACT The United Nations, through its 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/EDIFACT The United Nations Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport (UN/EDIFACT) is approved as an ISO standard for the electronic interchange of structured trade data among computerized information systems. It comprises internationally agreed standards, directories and guidelines.

UNECE United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

UNLK The United Nations Layout Key for Trade Documents serves as a master layout design from which other trade documents can be derived. It organizes coded information (address, buyer, seller, documentation requirements for certain products, etc.) in a box format in fixed locations on a document. The UNLK can be used for creating international and national layout keys and standard forms used in electronic data processing applications.

Web services Web services are defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) as software systems designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network.

WCO World Customs Organization

XML eXtensible Markup Language designates a universal commonly used data format for publishing and exchanging structured documents over the Internet.

Source: CITES Secretariat


16

CITES SecretariatInternational Environment House

Chemin des AnémonesCH-1219 Châtelaine, Geneva

Switzerland

Telephone: +41 (22) 917 81 39/40 Fax number: +41 (22) 797 34 17Email: [email protected] Website: htpp://www.cites.org

If you would like to submit an article, or make suggestions or comments, please contactthe Capacity-Building Unit.

Although every attempt is made to ensure the accuracy of the articles, the opinions expressed are those of the individual authors. Thedesignations of geographic entities do not imply the expression of an opinion from the CITES Secretariat concerning the legal status of

any country, territory, or area, or of its frontiers and borders.

Currently, the Buy-Ship-Pay Model and the CCL areat a critical stage of development where intensivework is taking place to get the Library’s content up toa critical mass, including the Core Components. Thisrequires a set of core components that is large enoughto allow organizations to use CCL data across theentire buy-ship-pay process – with a minimal need torequest additions or modifications.

In conclusion, UN/CEFACT is uniquely positionedto advise CITES Parties on the adoption of e-business

Continuation of page 14

Introduction to CITES for Customs on CD-ROM

In May 2004, the Secretariat informed the Parties of the launching of the Introduction to CITES for Customs onCD-ROM. The Secretariat is pleased to announce that version 2 of the course is available. The course has been

updated to include new materials and to take account of Decisions and Resolutionsadopted at the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (The Hague, 2007). TheSecretariat is very grateful to the Canada order Services Agency for permitting it toadapt their product for CITES training and to the Enforcement Branch of the CanadianWildlife Service for its help in the preparation of the original version of the course in2004. The Secretariat encourages Management Authorities to make this CD-ROMavailable to: Customs officers involved in dealing with CITES specimens and CITESdocumentation, as well as other government departments involved in the import andexport of CITES specimens. The CD-ROM contains a mechanism for providingfeedback to a specific email address, where the Secretariat hopes to receive commentsfrom the users on how to improve this product. Parties may reproduce this

CD-ROM for their own use if the source is fully acknowledged. However, it is not intended for commercial use.Copies of this CD-ROM are provided on request from the Secretariat.

standards in their implementation of projects relatedto electronic CITES permits and certificates. In thismanner, such projects will be aligned with newdevelopments in electronic business and harmonizedwith international standards.

Questions on UNECE’s work on trade facilitationshould be directed to:

Mr. Markus Pikart, Economic Affairs OfficerUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)E-mail: [email protected]

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