Legislation Tracker

Which countries are taking measures that encourage companies to contribute to the Cali Fund?

The international agreement establishing the Cali Fund invites countries to "take administrative, policy or legislative measures" that incentivise contributions to the Cali Fund.

0

countries with legislation encouraging Cali Fund contributions

0

countries where such legislation is under discussion

South Korea

  • Friends of the Cali Fund Member: no
  • CBD Party
  • Nagoya Party
  • BBNJ Agreement Party
  1. No Legislation or administrative measure proposed yet
  2. Legislation or administrative measure proposed
  3. Legislation introduced
  4. Legislation passed into law
  5. Legislation or administrative measure in effect

Overview

The Republic of Korea has not introduced Cali Fund-specific legislation or administrative measures. Its 2017 Genetic Resources Act does not extend to DSI, and the government has argued that benefit-sharing from DSI should be voluntary and that the mechanism needs clearer scope and phased contribution rules before it can work in practice.

Proposed legislation / administrative measure

No measure has been proposed, and Korea has not filed a submission under notification 2026-006. In its March 2025 submission (notification 2024-114), the Ministry of Environment said the mechanism does not meet some of the criteria agreed at COP15 and called for a clear definition of 'direct or indirect use of DSI', sub-classification of the indicative sector list, and a phased approach with higher thresholds and lower contribution rates during a pilot phase. It also proposed an incentive programme for contributors, such as certificates and recognition on the ABS Clearing-House, and recognition of DSI uploaded to public databases as a non-monetary contribution.

Key developments

19 March 2025 - Korea ratified the BBNJ Agreement.

ABS legislation

Act on Access to and Utilization of Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing (Act No. 14533 of 17 January 2017, in force 17 August 2017, amended by Act No. 14839 and by Presidential Decree in 2018), plus its Enforcement Decree.

Regulatory context

Korea's Act on Access to and Utilization of Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing designates competent national authorities across several ministries, including environment, agriculture, oceans, health and science. It establishes procedures for access to Korean genetic resources and compliance reporting for users of foreign genetic resources, but does not cover DSI.