The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has released ₹6.67 crore under its Access and Benefit Sharing mechanism, aimed at biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of biological resources and better livelihoods across 11 cotton-growing states. It’s a direct application of the Biological Diversity Act: money earned from commercial use of biological resources gets reinvested into conservation and community work.
Where the Money Came From
The funds are part of ₹7.62 crore received from Bayer Science & Innovation Pvt. Ltd., formerly Monsanto Holdings, for research covering 25,431 varieties of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum). Cotton matters a great deal to India. The country holds a major share of the world’s cotton genetic diversity, and nearly 4 to 5 crore people depend on the crop across its value chain.
A Framework for the Untraceable
Here’s the complication. The biological resources in question came through traders and intermediaries, which made it impossible to trace individual conservers or benefit claimants. So the NBA, working with an expert committee, built a framework to handle exactly this kind of case.
Where a resource’s geographical origin can be established scientifically, using published records, the benefit-sharing amount goes to the relevant State Biodiversity Board. Where the source can’t be pinned down, the funds stay in the National Biodiversity Fund and get used under Section 27 of the Biological Diversity Act, for conservation and sustainable use nationwide.
How the ₹6.67 Crore Was Split
Maharashtra got the largest share at ₹2.41 crore. Gujarat followed with ₹1.38 crore, then Telangana at ₹1.06 crore, Karnataka at ₹0.40 crore, Rajasthan at ₹0.36 crore, Madhya Pradesh at ₹0.31 crore, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana each at ₹0.23 crore, Odisha at ₹0.14 crore, Punjab at ₹0.09 crore and Tamil Nadu at ₹0.06 crore. The NBA has kept back the remaining ₹0.95 crore, as allowed under the Biological Diversity Rules.
The split itself was based on cotton cultivation data from the All India Coordinated Research Project on Cotton under ICAR, with each state’s allocation tied to its actual area under cotton cultivation.
What the Money Will Fund
The list is long: on-farm and ex-situ conservation of biological resources, updates to People’s Biodiversity Registers, ecosystem restoration, stronger Biodiversity Heritage Sites, documentation of traditional knowledge, biodiversity research, digital biodiversity databases, capacity building for Biodiversity Management Committees, awareness programmes and livelihood work. The broader goal is protecting genetic resources while giving local communities a stronger hand in guarding India’s agrobiodiversity.
The NBA describes this as a science-based model for distributing benefits when biological resources pass through complicated supply chains, one that still gets support to biodiversity-rich regions even when individual beneficiaries can’t be found.
Key Takeaway: With this release, the NBA’s total ABS disbursement now stands at ₹152.24 crore. The mechanism is meant to ensure fair sharing of benefits from biological resource use, and it feeds into the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly its targets on benefit sharing and genetic diversity conservation.
The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is a statutory body set up under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, and functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. It regulates access to India’s biological resources and traditional knowledge, applying the principles of the Nagoya Protocol on fair and equitable benefit sharing.
MCQ’s:
1. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) was established under which Act?
A. Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
B. Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
C. Biological Diversity Act, 2002
D. Forest Conservation Act, 1980
2. The Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism is primarily intended to:
A. Increase forest cover through afforestation.
B. Ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of biological resources.
C. Regulate pollution from industries.
D. Promote ecotourism in protected areas.
