44 of 1995 on Plant Germination. Law No. 12/1992 foresees that the government undertakes the search for and collection of genetic resources for the purpose of plant breeding and may license individuals or corporate bodies to undertake this task (Article 9(2), (3)). Bioprospectors and collectors that act without licence are facing jail terms and fines (Article 60). Conservation of genetic resources is the task of government
and society together (Article 9(4)). Government Regulation No. 44/1995 equally provides that genetic resources are controlled by the government and used for the greatest possible welfare of the people (Article 3). Again, the government is BTK inhibitor generally in charge of the search for, collection, use and conservation of plant genetic resources, but Indonesian citizens or corporate bodies may be licensed for search and collection (Article 5(1), (2)). Search and collection of genetic resources is only allowed for
the purposes of plant breeding and may be undertaken by foreign parties only in the context of research collaboration with an Indonesian counterpart (Article 5(3), (4)). Export of genetic resources is only allowed for specified species and for research purposes in plant breeding, whereby an exchange of such resources is envisaged (Article 14). Access of foreigners and foreign institutions depends, therefore, on research permits and their content. For these purposes, an initial Presidential Decision was issued in 1993 (No. 100/1993) followed by implementing regulations in a Circular letter of the Head of the
Indonesian Science Agency (LIPI) in 1998. Under this scheme, LIPI prepared and provided Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) see more to be signed by the foreign researchers and their Indonesian partners (Subroto and Suprapedi 2001; Antons 2009b, pp. 56–57). These Tideglusib various regulations have been replaced by Government Regulation No. 41 of 2006, which now regulates the granting of official permits for foreign researchers by the Ministry for Research and Technology. Article 20(2) of this Regulation prohibits foreign researchers in general to take samples or specimens related to their research outside of Indonesia, unless this is allowed by a further regulation. The official government memorandum to this provision explains that the further regulation referred to is Law No. 4 of 2006 on the Ratification of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR), to which Indonesia acceded in 2006, and the ITPGR’s Material Transfer Agreement. Where a bioprospecting activity concerns forest products, it may be necessary to obtain further permits from the forestry departments. Law No. 41 of 1999 on Forests distinguishes in Article 1 between state, private and production forests, “forests under customary law” (hutan adat) and various types of protected and conservation forests. The Law provides nevertheless in Article 2(1) that all forests and natural resources are controlled by the government.