Target 19: By 2020, mechanisms, rules and regulations on access to and benefit sharing of genetic resources and traditional knowledge are available for Competent National Authorities.

Thailand has assigned the Competent National Authorities with the tasks of regulating access to and benefit sharing of natural resources and biodiversity by utilizing relevant laws and the authorities’ own regulations to approve such access as well as actions related to the conservation and sustainable use. However, most of these laws including National Reserved Forest Act (1964), National Park Act (1961) and Plant Variety Act (1975) have long been enacted before the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS). Therefore, these laws need to be reviewed and revised to accommodate specific provisions on the access to, and benefit of, sharing of genetic resources to provide practical guidance for current circumstance while meeting the need to protect traditional knowledge related to the genetic resources.