16th National Meet of State Biodiversity Boards and Union Territory Biodiversity Councils held at Chandigarh; Deliberations to focus on effective Implementation of the Biodiversity Governance Framework at the State and local levels

Exam-ready takeaways

1. Organised by the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), the two-day National Meet, being held from 6–7 September 2026, brings together Chairpersons and Member Secretaries of SBBs and UTBCs from across the country, along with senior officials, experts and scientists.
2. Referring to the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, the Minister noted that the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 and the Biological Diversity Rules, 2024 have further strengthened and streamlined the biodiversity governance framework.
3. Emphasising implementation at the grassroots level, Shri Yadav called for making the more than 2.76 lakh Biodiversity Management Committees functional and effective.
4. On Access and Benefit Sharing, the Minister noted that the National Biodiversity Authority has shared over ₹200 crore of ABS funds with farmers, local communities, Biodiversity Management Committees, State Biodiversity Boards, Union Territory Biodiversity Councils and research institutions.
5. He talked about India's Updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 2024–2030, which is aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).