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Priya Singh
New Delhi: The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has released Rs 2.82 crore under the Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) mechanism to support biodiversity conservation, sustainable use and community livelihoods.
Of the total amount, Rs 2.80 crore has been released to 27 State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and three Union Territory Biodiversity Councils (UTBCs). Another Rs 2.01 lakh is being released to the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (ICAR-IIHR), Karnataka.
The NBA received Rs 2.94 crore from Advanta Enterprises Ltd., formerly UPL Limited, as ABS payments linked to the utilisation of genetic resources associated with several horticultural hybrids.
These include eight cauliflower hybrids, five hot pepper hybrids, five okra hybrids and six tomato hybrids.
Since the biological resources could not be traced to specific farmers, communities or a single identifiable geographic source, the NBA constituted an Expert Committee to recommend an appropriate mechanism for sharing the benefit.
Based on the approved mechanism, Rs 2.80 crore has been distributed among states and UTs, taking into account the cultivation of the concerned horticultural crops.
Gujarat received the largest allocation at Rs 44.59 lakh, followed by West Bengal with Rs 41.24 lakh and Madhya Pradesh with Rs 32.73 lakh.
Other major recipients include:
The remaining 20 State Biodiversity Boards and UT Biodiversity Councils together received Rs 40.55 lakh.
The funds released to SBBs and UTBCs will support activities including updating People's Biodiversity Registers, biodiversity conservation, restoration of degraded ecosystems and strengthening Biodiversity Heritage Sites.
The funds will also be used for capacity building of Biodiversity Management Committees and community livelihood enhancement.
The concerned bodies are required to submit utilisation certificates and expenditure statements within one year of receiving the funds.
Separately, the NBA received Rs 7.15 lakh from Sumitomo Chemical India Ltd. as ABS payment for access to two microbial strains sourced from ICAR-IIHR, Karnataka.
These strains, Pseudomonas fluorescens 1% WP and Trichoderma harzianum 1% WP, were accessed for research and commercial utilisation.
As the biological resources were accessed from a public research institution, 30% of the ABS amount, or Rs 2.01 lakh, is being released to ICAR-IIHR.
The institute will use the funds for activities including maintenance of repositories, research, biodiversity surveys, capacity building in taxonomy and conservation of biological resources and their wild relatives.
With this latest release, the total ABS amount disbursed by the NBA has reached Rs185 crore, equivalent to around USD 19.34 million.
The NBA said the initiative is aimed at ensuring that benefits arising from the commercial utilisation of India's biological resources are channelled towards biodiversity conservation, sustainable use and the socio-economic development of farmers, local communities and others involved in biodiversity conservation.
The mechanism also contributes to India's commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
