• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.41-60
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• 2007

Attempts were made to define the elements of debates, impact of decisions of the Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-sharing(ABS) of the Conference of the Parties(COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD) In Korea. Providing policy suggestions to cope with ABS, a cross-cutting issue of the meetings of the COP, was also undertaken. Meetings concerning ABS deal with several key matters such as an international regime, which is a legally binding implementation tool of the Bonn Guidelines, an international certificate of genetic resources' origin/source/legal provenance, and disclosure of origin of genetic resources, compliance measures with prior informed consent of the Contracting Parties providing such resources and with mutually agreed terms on which access was granted. Developing countries, rich in biodiversity and genetic resources, use the CBD as a major tool to maximize their national profits. They demand for national sovereign rights for the genetic resources and indigenous communities providing associated traditional knowledge. At the meetings of the COP, in addition, they requested that developed countries should transfer technologies and provide a financial mechanism for resource conservation to them. On the contrary, the developed countries argue that facilitating access to genetic resources is essential for scientific research and development, and that both Intellectual Property Rights and biotechnology using genetic resources should be protected to maximize their national benefits. Decisions of the COP concerning the Bonn Guidelines and compliance measures with ABS will affect on various socioeconomic fields of Korea, a country which is short of genetic resources. Especially, the importation of genetic resources and land development which might damage genetic resources will be limited seriously. Consequently, overall expenses will increase for the securing genetic resources from the foreign countries and developing biotechnology for conservation and sustainable uses of genetic resources. To minimize the adverse impacts, we endeavor to establish our clear standpoint and to lead the international trends, which are favorable for us. In order to achieve these objectives, government needs i) to proceed researches to lead the international ABS debates actively and to prepare the expected decisions of the future meetings of the COP, ii) to establish a national implementation plan to cope with the ABS and its related decisions, iii) to examine and improve the efficiencies of the national implementation plan with a proper monitoring system, and iv) cope with the other international meetings including the meetings of Trade Related Intellectual Properly Rights and International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture actively.