NBA releases ₹43.22 lakh patent-linked Access and Benefit Sharing fund

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has recently released a ₹43.22 lakh patent-linked Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) fund. This move is considered a significant step toward ensuring that the benefits derived from the use of India’s biological resources reach local communities, conservers, and other relevant stakeholders.

What is ABS

¨     Under India’s Biological Diversity Act, 2002, Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) is a mechanism through which a portion of the benefits gained by industries, researchers, and institutions using biological resources and traditional knowledge is shared with the communities and groups that help conserve these resources.

Main Point

¨     The funds were generated from Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) applications that utilised Indian biological resources for obtaining patents and commercialising the innovation.

¨     This is the first-ever patent-linked ABS disbursement by NBA under such IPR-based commercialisation.

¨     The ABS amount has been disbursed to sixteen State Biodiversity Boards for onward release to the respective benefit claimers.

¨     It marks a significant step in ensuring that benefits derived from innovations based on Indian biological resources are equitably shared, particularly with communities, knowledge holders, and custodians who have conserved these resources for generations.

¨     The ABS, once transferred to the Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs), will support biodiversity conservation, sustainable resource management, and community-based livelihood strengthening.

Biological Diversity Act, 2002

¨     Institutional Framework: The Act establishes a three-tier governance structure comprising the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) at the national level, State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) at the state level, and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at local governance levels.

Functions of NBA

¨     Regulatory: Grants permissions for foreign entities to access biological resources and knowledge for research, bio-survey, commercial use, or intellectual property rights (IPR) applications.

¨     Advisory: Advises the central and state governments on matters related to conservation and sustainable use.

¨     Facilitative: Promotes conservation and works with SBBs and BMCs to implement the Act at the state and local levels.

Functions of BMCs

¨     It creates, maintains and updates People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) documenting biological resources, traditional knowledge and other local conservation initiatives.

¨     Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS): A key mechanism ensuring that benefits arising from the use of biological resources and associated knowledge are equitably shared with local communities and custodians.ABS is based on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and operationalized through the Nagoya Protocol, adopted in 2010 and came into force in 2014.

¨     Conservation and Sustainable Use: It empowers the government to notify threatened species, biodiversity heritage sites, and regulate practices threatening biodiversity, including prohibiting unauthorized collection, trade, or export.