Agricultural Biological Resources ABS Benefits ₹1.04 Crore for Biodiversity

24 Oct Agricultural Biological Resources ABS Benefits ₹1.04 Crore for Biodiversity

✎ Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, ensures equitable sharing of monetary and non-monetary benefits from the utilisation of biological resources and traditional knowledge, with the National…

Subject Relevance — Where This Topic Fits

• GS Paper III — Environment and Biodiversity  |  GS Paper III — Economic Development
• Prelims: Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), Biological Diversity Act 2002, Nagoya Protocol, genetic resources, traditional knowledge, biodiversity conservation, monetary benefits, National Biodiversity Authority (NBA)
• Essay: Ethical governance of natural resources: balancing conservation with equitable benefit-sharing, Science, technology, and policy integration for sustainable development

Quick Revision: Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, ensures equitable sharing of monetary and non-monetary benefits from the utilisation of biological resources and traditional knowledge, with the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) as the nodal regulator.

Why is this in the news?

A recent press release from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change highlights that agricultural biological resources in India have generated approximately ₹1.04 crore in Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) benefits, which are directed toward biodiversity conservation initiatives. This development underscores the operationalisation of India’s legal framework for equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge, in line with international commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Nagoya Protocol.

Background

• The Biological Diversity Act, 2002, was enacted to give effect to the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992, which India ratified in 1994. The Act aims to conserve biological diversity, ensure sustainable use of its components, and ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge.
• India is a megadiverse country and one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries. Its rich biological and genetic resources, including agricultural biodiversity, are of global significance for food security, medicine, and ecosystem services.
• The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization, adopted in 2010, operationalises Article 15 of the CBD. It establishes a legally binding framework for access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing.
• The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), established under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, is the nodal agency responsible for implementing ABS provisions, regulating access to biological resources, and ensuring compliance with benefit-sharing obligations.
• Prior to the ABS mechanism, there was limited formal recognition or compensation for the utilisation of biological resources and traditional knowledge, leading to concerns over biopiracy and inequitable distribution of benefits derived from such resources.

What is Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)?

• ABS is a legal and policy framework that ensures fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources, their derivatives, and associated traditional knowledge, as mandated by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol.
• The framework applies to all stakeholders—researchers, industries, academic institutions, and governments—seeking access to biological resources or traditional knowledge for research, development, or commercial purposes.
• Under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, prior approval from the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is required before accessing biological resources or associated knowledge for commercial utilisation. This approval is subject to mutually agreed terms (MAT) and benefit-sharing arrangements.
• Benefits under ABS can be monetary (e.g., fees, royalties, joint ventures) or non-monetary (e.g., technology transfer, capacity building, sharing of research results). The NBA determines the quantum and modality of benefit-sharing based on the nature and scale of utilisation.
• ABS mechanisms aim to prevent biopiracy by ensuring that local and indigenous communities, as custodians of biological resources and traditional knowledge, receive appropriate recognition and compensation for their contributions.
• The NBA maintains a register of benefit-sharing agreements and monitors compliance. Funds collected under ABS are deposited into the National Biodiversity Fund, which is utilised for biodiversity conservation, research, and community development projects.
• India’s ABS framework is aligned with international obligations but is implemented through domestic legislation, ensuring sovereignty over biological resources and associated knowledge.
• The recent generation of ₹1.04 crore in ABS benefits from agricultural biological resources reflects the operationalisation of this framework in sectors critical to food security and rural livelihoods.

Key Features

Feature	Significance
Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Mechanism under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002	Legal framework that mandates equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge, ensuring conservation incentives and justice for local communities.
Revenue Generation from Agricultural Biological Resources	Monetary benefits accrued through ABS mechanisms, channelised into biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilisation initiatives across India.
Integration with National Biodiversity Authority (NBA)	Institutional mechanism under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change that oversees ABS compliance, ensuring regulatory oversight and equitable benefit distribution.
State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs)	State-level bodies that facilitate ABS implementation, coordinate with local communities, and ensure compliance with the Biological Diversity Act at sub-national levels.
Community Participation and Traditional Knowledge Documentation	Involvement of local and indigenous communities in resource utilisation and benefit-sharing processes, fostering conservation-linked livelihoods and cultural preservation.

Why it Matters

Legal and Regulatory

• Reinforces India’s commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol, ensuring compliance with international obligations on access to genetic resources and fair benefit-sharing.
• Provides a structured legal pathway for the utilisation of biological resources, reducing biopiracy risks and ensuring prior informed consent (PIC) and mutually agreed terms (MAT) in resource access agreements.
• Strengthens the implementation of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, by demonstrating tangible outcomes in revenue generation and conservation funding.

Economic

• Demonstrates the economic potential of biological resources through ABS mechanisms, incentivising biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilisation as viable livelihood options.
• Revenue generated can be channelised into biodiversity hotspots, protected area management, and community-led conservation projects, enhancing ecological and economic resilience.
• Encourages private sector and research institutions to invest in bio-prospecting and sustainable innovation, aligning economic growth with conservation objectives.

Ecological and Social

• Promotes conservation of agricultural biodiversity, including crop varieties, medicinal plants, and livestock breeds, critical for climate-resilient agriculture and food security.
• Empowers local and indigenous communities by recognising their role in biodiversity conservation and ensuring their participation in benefit-sharing mechanisms.
• Supports the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), through sustainable resource utilisation and conservation.

Institutional

• Highlights the role of the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) in implementing ABS mechanisms, strengthening India’s institutional framework for biodiversity governance.
• Demonstrates inter-ministerial and inter-departmental coordination, particularly between the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, and state governments.

Challenges

1. Implementation Gaps in ABS Mechanisms

• Limited awareness among stakeholders, including researchers, industries, and local communities, about ABS provisions and their rights and obligations under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
• Complexity in tracking and documenting traditional knowledge associated with biological resources, leading to challenges in benefit-sharing negotiations and compliance.
• Inadequate capacity at the state level, particularly in State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs), to effectively implement ABS mechanisms and monitor compliance.

UPSC Link: GS-III: Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation

2. Equitable Benefit-Sharing and Community Rights

• Ensuring fair and equitable distribution of benefits among diverse stakeholders, including local communities, researchers, and industries, remains a persistent challenge.
• Balancing the rights of local communities with the needs of researchers and industries, particularly in cases where traditional knowledge is utilised for commercial purposes.
• Legal and administrative hurdles in defining ‘beneficiaries’ and ‘benefits’ under ABS mechanisms, leading to disputes and underutilisation of the framework.

UPSC Link: GS-II: Government Policies and Interventions for Development

3. Monitoring and Enforcement Challenges

• Lack of robust monitoring mechanisms to track the utilisation of biological resources and ensure compliance with ABS provisions, leading to potential misuse.
• Inadequate penalties and enforcement mechanisms under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, which may deter strict compliance and encourage circumvention of ABS requirements.
• Challenges in verifying the origin of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge, particularly in cases of cross-border utilisation.

UPSC Link: GS-III: Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation

4. Integration with Other Policies and Schemes

• Ensuring coherence between ABS mechanisms and other biodiversity-related policies, such as the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) and the National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Well-being.
• Aligning ABS benefits with other conservation initiatives, such as the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) and the Green India Mission, to maximise ecological and economic outcomes.

UPSC Link: GS-III: Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation

5. Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss

• Accelerating biodiversity loss due to climate change and anthropogenic pressures may undermine the long-term viability of biological resources, reducing the potential for ABS revenue generation.
• Need for adaptive management strategies to address the impacts of climate change on agricultural biodiversity and traditional knowledge systems.

UPSC Link: GS-III: Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation

Challenges — UPSC Perspective

Issue	Concern
Limited stakeholder awareness	Reduces compliance and participation in ABS mechanisms.
Complexity in traditional knowledge documentation	Hinders fair benefit-sharing negotiations.
Inadequate state-level capacity	Impedes effective implementation of ABS at sub-national levels.
Equitable benefit-sharing challenges	Risks marginalising local communities and traditional knowledge holders.
Monitoring and enforcement gaps	Increases risks of biopiracy and non-compliance.
Policy incoherence	Reduces the effectiveness of ABS in achieving conservation goals.

Government Initiatives — Must-Memorise for Prelims

• Biological Diversity Act, 2002
• National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP)
• National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Well-being
• Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA)
• Green India Mission

Way Forward

• Enhance stakeholder awareness through targeted outreach programmes, including capacity-building workshops for researchers, industries, and local communities on ABS provisions and their rights.
• Strengthen the institutional framework by augmenting the capacity of State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and local biodiversity management committees (BMCs) to implement ABS mechanisms effectively.
• Develop robust monitoring and evaluation systems to track the utilisation of biological resources and ensure compliance with ABS provisions, including digital platforms for real-time reporting.
• Promote research and documentation of traditional knowledge associated with biological resources, ensuring its integration into benefit-sharing mechanisms and conservation planning.
• Foster inter-ministerial and inter-departmental coordination to align ABS mechanisms with other biodiversity-related policies and schemes, such as the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).
• Encourage private sector participation in ABS mechanisms through incentives, such as tax benefits or recognition for sustainable utilisation of biological resources.
• Integrate ABS benefits with climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, ensuring that conservation efforts are resilient to climate-induced biodiversity loss.
• Establish grievance redressal mechanisms to address disputes related to benefit-sharing, ensuring fair and transparent resolution processes.

UPSC Value Addition

Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Consider the following statements regarding the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism in India:
1. The ABS mechanism is governed by the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
2. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is the nodal agency for implementing ABS in India.
3. ABS applies only to foreign entities seeking biological resources from India.
4. The ABS mechanism is aligned with the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization.

How many of the above statements are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. Only three
4. All four

Answer: Only three — Statements 1, 2, and 4 are correct. Statement 3 is incorrect because ABS applies to both Indian and foreign entities seeking biological resources or associated traditional knowledge from India.

Q2. Which of the following is NOT a primary objective of the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002?

1. A. To ensure equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of biological resources
2. B. To prevent biopiracy and unauthorised access to biological resources
3. C. To promote the commercialisation of all biological resources without any restrictions
4. D. To conserve biological diversity and promote sustainable utilisation

Answer: C. To promote the commercialisation of all biological resources without any restrictions — Option C is incorrect. The ABS mechanism does not promote unregulated commercialisation; it ensures sustainable utilisation and equitable benefit-sharing while preventing biopiracy.

Mains Practice Question

✍ Critically examine the role of the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism in India’s biodiversity governance framework. How does it align with the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol? Also, assess the challenges in its effective implementation. (15 Marks)

Approach: MODEL-ANSWER SKELETON:

1. **Introduction**: Define ABS and its legal framework in India (Biological Diversity Act, 2002; National Biodiversity Authority (NBA); State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs)).

2. **Role of ABS in Biodiversity Governance**:
– Equitable sharing of benefits from utilisation of biological resources and traditional knowledge (Section 2(c) of the Act).
– Prevention of biopiracy and unauthorised access (Section 40).
– Promotion of conservation and sustainable utilisation (Section 2(f)).
– Alignment with CBD (Article 15) and Nagoya Protocol (Article 5).

3. **Alignment with CBD and Nagoya Protocol**:
– CBD’s three objectives: conservation, sustainable use, and fair and equitable benefit-sharing.
– Nagoya Protocol’s provisions on prior informed consent (PIC), mutually agreed terms (MAT), and tracking utilisation.
– India’s ABS framework as a domestic implementation of these international obligations.

4. **Challenges in Implementation**:
– **Awareness and Capacity**: Limited awareness among local communities, researchers, and industries about ABS provisions.
– **Enforcement**: Weak monitoring and enforcement mechanisms; lack of dedicated personnel and infrastructure.
– **Complexity**: Overlapping jurisdictions between NBA, SBBs, and other agencies (e.g., Patent Office for IPR-related disputes).
– **Traditional Knowledge**: Difficulty in documenting and protecting traditional knowledge associated with biological resources (e.g., People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) are often incomplete or outdated).
– **Commercial Pressures**: Industries may bypass ABS by accessing resources through informal channels or international collaborations.
– **Legal Ambiguities**: Unclear provisions on benefit-sharing ratios, valuation of resources, and dispute resolution.

5. **Way Forward**:
– Strengthening institutional capacity (NBA, SBBs, and local bodies).
– Enhancing awareness through community engagement and capacity-building programs.
– Leveraging technology (e.g., blockchain for tracking utilisation and benefit-sharing).
– Simplifying compliance procedures for researchers and industries.
– Strengthening legal frameworks to address biopiracy and unauthorised access.

6. **Conclusion**: Reiterate the importance of ABS in achieving biodiversity conservation and equitable development, while acknowledging the need for systemic reforms.

Source: PIB (Press Information Bureau)

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