New Delhi, Aug 9 (PTI) The National Biodiversity Authority has disbursed close to Rs 3.79 crore under its access and benefit sharing mechanism to 33 states, Union territories and national institutes, environment ministry officials said on Sunday.
The access and benefit sharing (ABS) mechanism, established under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, ensures that benefits arising from the utilisation of biological resources are shared fairly and equitably with local communities, biodiversity management committees, farmers, and traditional knowledge holders.
“The ABS amount was realised from companies including M/s Bayer Science and Innovation Pvt Ltd, M/s HM Clause India Pvt Ltd and M/s Advanta Enterprises Limited for accessing vegetable and oilseed genetic resources for research and commercial utilisation,” a ministry official said.
The vegetable and oilseed genetic resources included tomato, chilli, brinjal, cauliflower, watermelon, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, okra, mustard seed varieties and deep-frozen Sahiwal cattle semen.
“The ABS amount was disbursed proportionately among the state biodiversity boards (SBBs) and Union territory biodiversity councils (UTBCs), where the respective crops are cultivated,” the official said.
The recipient SBBs and UTBCs need to utilise these funds for activities such as preparing and updating people’s biodiversity registers, in-situ and ex-situ conservation of biodiversity, and strengthening of biodiversity heritage sites. PTI ALC ARI
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