Protection of Plant Varieties In the Provisions of International Conventions

Abstract

Plant varieties are part of biodiversity that needs to be protected both nationally and in the provisions of international conventions. This biodiversity is highly valuable because it is a part of genetic resources. The biodiversity needs to be maintained, preserved and protected to support economic development in the agricultural sector. The type of research used in examining legal issues was normative legal research. This study used statute approach, conceptual approach, and comparative approach. The results indicated that CBD granted the developing countries the rights to monitor access to genetic resources as a way to restore balance between developing countries and industrialized countries. The rights were granted to developing countries to optimally protect, preserve, regulate and support the utilization of germplasm. UPOV provided benefits to its member countries, in the form of: increasing activity and capital in breeding activities, providing more choices of plant varieties to farmers and consumers, increasing farmer income and developing rural areas and developing foreign markets. ITPGRFA protected the rights of farmers based on the contribution and role of farmers and the local community in preserving plant varieties that were partly from plant genetic resources belonging to Indonesia. CITES had a mission and goal to prevent the species of wild plants and animals from extinction in nature through the development of a system for controlling the trade of animal and plant species and their products internationally.