Is Biological Diversity Act Hampering Biodiversity Research?

The Biological Diversity Act 2002 was enacted to meet the obligations of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from India’s rich biodiversity. This was followed by the establishment of the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) which regulates the access of biological resources in the country. The act and the rules that followed were found to be too restrictive by many and even the Department of Biotechnology and the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India (GoI) have raised several objections to them. The matter was further complicated by the way some provisions are being interpreted by the administering Ministry, i.e. the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), GoI, and the lack of coordination that resulted in different states making their own rules which in some cases are contradictory to the central act.