• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.25-45
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• 2002

Opening of trade relationships through an increasing number of international free trade agreements and the now defunct General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade has resulted in an increase the number of the species being exchanged in the world. In the last 20 years, international environmental laws have multiplied and a number of treaties address harmful non-indigenous species (NIS) directly with specific provisions, while other treaties deal with related environmental issues and indirectly affect international regulation of NIS; however, such treaties are weak due to lack of enforceability. From the stand point of national law, many countries including the USA, Australia and New Zealand enforce national laws and regulations to protect biological resources. Typical strategies include : 1) strengthening quarantines to prevent unintentional and illegal introduction of harmful NIS, and 2) developing technologies for managing harmful NIS. However, the recent international trend for managing NIS has shifted. In 2002, the Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefit Arising out of their Utilization was adopted at the 6th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity. One major issue highlighted in the document is that "there is no more free of charge to get a biological resource from other countries". The Bonn guidelines will affect international and national NIS regulatory systems because the NIS is a potentially disrupts ecosystems as well as native species. A number of impacts are expected including the revamping of national biodiversity policy regimes in many countries in the world. In particular, the ROK, which is not very biologically diverse, has to evolve national laws to protect valuable ecosystems from NIS. In the meanwhile, national rights of using beneficial indigenous and non-indigenous species as biological resources should be considered through the investigation and national registration of NIS around the world for the promotion of the biotech industry.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.259-264
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• 2004

Convention on Biological Diversity has authorized national sovereignty over biological resources so that legislative framework should be established. In biological resources management, the access to biological resources and the benefit sharing arising out of their utilization are two most important steps. Bonn guidelines adopted by the 6th COP of the Convention on Biological Diversity contain MAT (Mutually Agreed Terms) and PIC (Prior Informed Consent) indispensable to implement the access and benefit-sharing process. MAT is contractual agreement between provider countries and use entities while PIC is a specific measure associated with consent prior to access to biological resources. Moreover, the guidelines include the responsibilities of national focal point and competent national authority, incentives and so on. Our laws related to access to biological resources have no items on benefit-sharing and intellectual property rights. The role of the competent national authority is very important to coordinate the organization controlling information availability, opening to the public, and intellectual property rights with other stakeholders. But, the national regulations must not interfere with academic studies on biological diversity and disobey the two objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the conservation of biological diversity and its sustainable use.

• 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.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.100 no.3
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• pp.522-534
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• 2011

The aim of this study is to draw forth the tasks for establishing the right of native biology in Korea through the case study on 'Access on genetic resources and Benefit Sharing'. For this purpose, this study decided on its research subject by selecting Hoodia, on which ABS treaty was made the most recently, through the examination of the representative ABS precedents on plant species. This study analyzed the process background of ABS on Hoodia, and compared & analyzed the ABS procedures of 'Bonn Guidelines' adopted by the 6th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2002 and Hoodia case. Together with the ABS major issues in common drawn as a result of this analysis, and "Nagoya Protocol" adopted by the 10th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity, this study intended to shed a light on the impending tasks which Korea faces at present and its role relationship. The research results are as follows: 1. It is required that species habitats should be divided based on biological classification and its subsequent community should be established with the development of infrastructure such as a community's independent production, management and monitoring of bio-species. 2. There needs to be a designation of ABS National Focal Point for sharing of ABS-related general information, boosting of implementation of the relevant convention. 3. There needs to be the establishment of ABS convention system consequent on legislative, administrative, political procedures, and designation of the Competent National Authorities for the provision of the format of Prior Informed Consent (PIC) and Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT) and their contents assessment and confirmation. 4. There should be the establishment of integrated management system of ABS-related research and development of forest biological resources and its relevant research projects. 5. There should be information development through the distribution of responsibility and role between the ministries and offices concerned according to bio-resources, and there needs to be efforts in aiming for opening a working group of academic-industrial institutions for developing a mutually interchangeable system. 6. It's required that the efficient access between industrial circles and the people should be promoted by setting up ABS support center of biological resources in ministry and office's charge. 7. There should be a selection of a national supervisory organization for securement of the right of a local community and monitoring of ABS convention implementation, and a countermeasure system for preventing outflow of forest bioresources. Conclusively, it's judged that it will be possible to inquire into the countermeasures for the establishment of the native forest biology dominion through such research results.