New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) Over 2.76 lakh Biodiversity Management Committees have been established across the country, strengthening community participation in biodiversity governance and benefit-sharing mechanisms, the first report on implementation of the Nagoya Protocol has said.
India is demonstrating its leadership with a 60 per cent share in the global compliance certificates on the ABS Clearing-House, it further noted.
The Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), has submitted the country’s first National Report (NR1) on the implementation of the Protocol — officially known as the ‘Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization’.
It is an international agreement that focuses on sharing the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way, as the name denotes.
The NR1 covers the period from November 1, 2017 to December 31, 2025 and highlights India’s progress in implementing the Protocol while contributing to Target 13 of India’s updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). India had earlier submitted its Interim National Report in November 2017.
India’s Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) framework operates under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, supported by the Biological Diversity Rules, 2024 and the ABS Regulations, 2025, through a three-tier institutional structure comprising the National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards or Union Territory Biodiversity Councils and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the local level.
“Over 2,76,653 BMCs have been established across the country, strengthening community participation in biodiversity governance and benefit-sharing mechanisms,” an official statement said.
“During the reporting period (2017-2025), India issued 12,830 ABS approvals, including 5,913 approvals by the NBA for entities under Section 3(2) of the Biological Diversity Act covering research, bio-survey, commercial utilisation, transfer of research results, intellectual property rights and third-party transfers, and 6,917 approvals by for Section 7 entities for commercial utilisation of biological resources.
“India has also published 3,556 Internationally Recognised Certificates of Compliance (IRCCs) on the ABS Clearing-House, in accordance with Article 17 of the Nagoya Protocol, representing over 60 per cent of the global total and demonstrating India’s leadership in transparency and compliance,” it added.
The ministry noted that the implementation of the ABS framework has generated significant benefits.
“During the reporting period, Rs 216.31 crore were mobilised through NBA approvals, of which Rs 139.69 crore have been disbursed to benefit claimers, including BMCs, local communities, farmers and traditional knowledge holders, supporting biodiversity conservation and livelihoods,” it said.
Rs 51.96 crore (USD 6.56 million) were generated through approvals granted by State Biodiversity Boards or Union Territory Biodiversity Councils for commercial utilisation by Indian entities under Section 7 of the Act, it said.
Furthermore, 395 NBA approvals incorporated non-monetary benefits, including capacity building, training, technology transfer and collaborative research, according to the report.
In line with the Nagoya Protocol, India also monitors the utilisation of foreign-sourced biological resources and associated traditional knowledge. Accordingly, 41 declarations were received by NBA in Form 10 for use of foreign bioresources.
“India has also undertaken extensive awareness and capacity-building initiatives to strengthen ABS implementation. A total of 2,56,393 individuals were trained through 3,724 workshops and programmes, alongside over 600 capacity-building initiatives nationwide,” the ministry added. PTI GJS PRK
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