NBA disburses over 3 crore rupees under Access and Benefit Sharing mechanism to 33 States/UTs and National Institutes

The National Biodiversity Authority's (NBA) recent disbursement of over ₹3 crore under the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism marks a watershed moment in India's implementation of the Nagoya Protocol and the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. This development is not merely a financial transaction but a concrete operationalization of the principle that benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge must be shared fairly and equitably with the providers — primarily local communities, farmers, and indigenous tribes who have conserved these resources for generations. The historical context traces back to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the Rio Earth Summit, which established three objectives: conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. India ratified the CBD in 1994 and enacted the Biological Diversity Act in 2002, establishing a three-tier structure: the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) at the national level, State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) at the state level, and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the local level. The Nagoya Protocol, adopted in 2010 and ratified by India in 2012, provided a legally binding framework for ABS. India's domestic legislation was further strengthened through the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023, which streamlined processes, decriminalized certain offences, and encouraged cultivation of medicinal plants to reduce pressure on wild populations. Key stakeholders in this disbursement include the NBA as the nodal agency, 33 State Biodiversity Boards and UT Biodiversity Councils as implementing arms, and National Institutes such as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutes that conserve germplasm. The resources covered — tomato, chilli, brinjal, and deep-frozen Sahiwal cattle germplasm — represent India's rich agrobiodiversity. Sahiwal cattle, a prized dairy breed from Punjab/Pakistan border region, is critical for climate-resilient livestock development. The inclusion of vegetable crops highlights the importance of farmers' varieties and landraces in food security. Constitutionally, this aligns with Article 48A (Directive Principle: protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding forests and wildlife) and Article 51A(g) (Fundamental Duty: to protect and improve the natural environment). The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) and the Forest Rights Act, 2006 further empower Gram Sabhas in biodiversity governance. The ABS mechanism ensures that monetary benefits (like this ₹3 crore) and non-monetary benefits (technology transfer, capacity building) flow to BMCs, which manage People's Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) documenting local knowledge. Economically, this incentivizes conservation by making it remunerative for communities. Politically, it strengthens federal cooperation — the Centre disburses, States implement, local bodies benefit. Internationally, it showcases India's compliance with CBD and Nagoya Protocol, enhancing its leadership in Global South negotiations on digital sequence information (DSI) and benefit-sharing at forums like COP16 (Cali, 2024). Future implications are profound. With the 2023 Amendment easing access for Indian researchers and AYUSH practitioners, ABS flows are expected to grow. The challenge lies in ensuring transparency in fund utilization at BMC level, digitizing PBRs, and addressing DSI — where genetic sequence data is used without physical access to resources, potentially bypassing ABS. For aspirants, this case study exemplifies the intersection of environment, agriculture, federalism, and international law — a recurring theme in UPSC Mains (GS Paper 2 & 3) and Prelims.