Microbial Institute for Fermentation Industry

'Convention on Biological Diversity', Scientists are warning that if the current rate of animal and plant extinction (about 70 species per day) continues, a quarter of all plant and animal species will disappear off from the face of the earth in 50 years. Various kinds of animals and plants provide medicines, agricultural products, and food raw materials which are essential to human beings, and their potential benefits are invaluable. Therefore, conserving biological diversity and ensuring the sustainable use of its components are very important for the future of mankind. Based on this recognition, in order to conserve biological diversity and to fairly distribute the benefits from its use, an intergovernmental negotiation conference was held under the supervision of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and the Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted in May 1992.

In addition, the Nagoya Protocol is an international agreement that contains guidelines for sharing the benefits of using biological resources. From October 27 to 29, 2010, the 10th General Assembly of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity was held in Nagoya, Japan, with 16,000 people including representatives of governments from 192 Parties, related international organizations, and international private organizations. The General Assembly discussed how and with whom to share the benefits of utilizing biological resources. Although the Convention on Biological Diversity itself was adopted in June 1992, there has been a continuing conflict between developed countries with technology and developing countries with biological resources over the content of benefit sharing. The General Assembly also did not reach an agreement between developed and developing countries. Two hours before the closing on the last day, the agreement was reached at the informal high-level meeting attended by chief government representatives from 20 major parties including Korea, the EU, Brazil, China, India, Switzerland, and Malawi the Africa representative. The agenda was immediately presented to the General Assembly and adopted as the Nagoya Protocol. According to the Nagoya Protocol, which consists of 30 articles and 2 annexes, the countries using biological genetic resources must notify the country providing the resources in advance and obtain approval prior to use. In addition, monetary and non-monetary benefits arising from the use of genetic resources must be shared in accordance with the mutually agreed contract terms and conditions.

Each country signed the Nagoya Protocol from 1 February 2011. The Nagoya Protocol has been ratified by more than 50 countries and became effective automatically on the 90th day after deposit with the UN secretary-general. The Nagoya Protocol came into force on 12 October 2014, as Uruguay completed its 50th ratification on 14 July 2014 and deposited the ratification instrument with the UN. Regardless of ratification, the Nagoya Protocol stipulates that countries that use foreign biological genetic resources must pay for it to the resource-owning countries.

According to the Nagoya Protocol, the countries using genetic resources for living organisms (including animals, plants, and microorganisms) must notify the country providing genetic resources in advance and obtain approval for their use. In addition, the benefits (including monetary and non-monetary profits) obtained by using the genetic resource must be distributed according to the mutually agreed contract terms and conditions. In addition, since traditional knowledge related to genetic resources is also included in the protection target, when a specific foreign company develops a new drug using the traditional knowledge of each country, the benefits must be shared with the local resident. This means that regions and countries which have internationally recognized traditional knowledge on the genetic resources of various organisms can exercise their ownership as knowledge property. Therefore, it has become very important to discover genetic resources, obtain information, and establish data in preparation for this protocol.

Meanwhile, since Korea signed on 20 September 2011, it was urgent to prepare a related system. Accordingly, the 'Act on the Conservation and Use of Biological Diversity’ was enacted on 1 February 2012 (enforced on 2 February 2013). As a result, the Ministry of Environment has come to manage the issues related to biological diversity as a whole. Therefore, biological diversity strategy is established every 5 years and implemented after deliberation by the State Council. In particular, the OECD has been actively recommending the member countries to establish and expand the operation of a Biological Resource Center in order to systematically collect and utilize biological resources since the early 2000s, and emphasizes international cooperation through organization of Global Biological Resource Center Network (GBRCN).

In order to actively cope with this international situation, the Sunchang-gun Microbial Institute for Fermentation Industry has been established to discover and supply various and excellent fermentation microorganisms necessary for the fermentation industry, based on the collection and systematic management of fermentation microorganisms (effective strains) resources. To realize this, the Microbial Institute is equipped with excellent microbial resource management facilities and equipment. In addition, the Microbial Institute has established a microbial resource management system by executing an MOU with the Korean Federation of Culture Collections, which has secured microbial resource management know-how. Through research activities, the Microbial Institute is also preserving about 10,000 species of excellent functional fermentation microorganisms isolated from traditional fermented foods. In order to stably manage these important fermentation microorganisms, the Microbial Institute for Fermentation Industry established an integrated management system for Korean-type effective strains, and provides users with information quickly and accurately to enhance the development of the fermentation industry.