New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has disbursed Rs 3.79 crore under the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) scheme to 33 State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and Union Territory Biodiversity Councils (UTBCs) and various agrobiodiversity research institutions, an Environment Ministry official said on Sunday.
A part of the Rs 3.79 crore was also released to the ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) and through the Haryana State Biodiversity Board to the Hisar Bovine Sperm Station and Research Centre, the official said in a statement.
The largest share of Rs 46.93 lakh out of the ABS amount was released to Madhya Pradesh followed by West Bengal at Rs 44.76 lakh and Odisha at Rs 44.08 lakh, it added.
The release covers a diverse range of India’s agrobiodiversity, including tomato, chilli, brinjal, cauliflower, watermelon, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, okra, mustard seed varieties and deep-frozen Sahiwal cattle semen, it said.
The ABS amount was realised from companies, including Bayer Science and Innovation Private Limited, HM Clause India Private Limited and Advanta Enterprises Limited for accessing vegetable and oilseed genetic resources for research and commercial utilisation, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said.
In addition, an ABS amount arose from Sri Lanka’s Department of Animal Production and Health for access to Sahiwal cattle semen.
India’s ABS framework, implemented under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, and aligned with the Nagoya Protocol, ensures equitable benefit sharing when biological resources are accessed by users from other countries, the statement said.
“As companies had accessed biological resources through markets, traders or intermediaries, the original source of access could not be identified. In such cases, the NBA adopted the benefit-sharing modalities prepared by an Expert Committee and approved by the Authority,” it added.
The ABS amount was disbursed proportionately among the SBBs and UTBCs of the states and Union Territories where the respective crops are cultivated, using cultivation-area data published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the statement said.
The recipient SBBs and UTBCs are required to utilise these funds for activities such as preparation and updating People’s Biodiversity Registers, in-situ and ex-situ conservation of biodiversity, strengthening of Biodiversity Heritage Sites, capacity building of Biodiversity Management Committees, and socio-economic development of local communities.
This ensures that benefits arising from the commercial use of India’s biological resources are reinvested in biodiversity conservation and community welfare, the statement said.
These releases reaffirm India’s commitment to implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly Target 13 on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources and Target 4 on conserving genetic diversity, the Ministry said.
The initiative also contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), it added.
–IANS
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