The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is an Act by the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

for the preservation of

biological diversity Biodiversity is the variability of life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distributed evenly on Eart ...

in India, and provides the mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of traditional biological resources and

knowledge Knowledge is an Declarative knowledge, awareness of facts, a Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with individuals and situations, or a Procedural knowledge, practical skill. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is oft ...

. The Act was enacted to meet the obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity, because India is a signatory to the treaty.

History

The Act was enacted to meet the obligations under Convention on Biological Diversity, of which India was a part in 2002.

Biodiversity and Biological Resource

Biodiversity has been defined under Section 2(b) of the Act as "the variability among living organisms from all sources and the ecological complexes of which they are part, and includes diversity within species or between species and of eco-systems". The Act also defines, Biological resources as "plants, animals and micro-organisms or parts thereof, their

genetic material Nucleic acids are large biomolecules that are crucial in all cells and viruses. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomer components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main classes of nucleic aci ...

and by-products (excluding value added products) with actual or potential use or value, but does not include human genetic material."

National Biodiversity Authority and State Biodiversity Boards

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is a statutory autonomous body, headquartered in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, under the Ministry of Environment and Forests,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

established in 2003 to implement the provisions under the Act. State Biodiversity Boards (SBB) has been created in 28 States along with 31,574 Biological management committees (for each local body) across India.

Functions

* Regulation of acts prohibited under the Act * Advise the Government on the conservation of biodiversity * Advise the Government on selection of biological heritage sites * Take appropriate steps to oppose the grant of intellectual property rights in foreign countries, arising from the use of biological resources or associated traditional knowledge.

Regulations

A foreigner, non-resident Indian, as defined in the clause (30) of section 2 of The Income-tax Act, 1961, or a foreign company or body corporate need to take permission from the NBA before obtaining any biological resources or associated knowledge from India for research, survey, commercial utilisation. Indian citizens or body corporates need to take permission from the concerned State Biodiversity Board. Result of research using biological resources from India cannot be transferred to a non-citizen or a foreign company without the permission of NBA. However, no such permission is needed for publication of the research in a journal or seminar, or in case of a collaborative research made by institutions approved by Central Government. The NBA while granting such permission may make an order for benefit sharing or royalty based on utilisation of such protection.Section 6 of Biological Diversity Act, 2002

Benefit sharing

Benefit sharing out of usage of biological resources can be done in following manner: *Joint ownership of intellectual property rights 2 3 4 *Transfer of technology *Location of production, research development units in the area of source *Payment of monetary and non-monetary compensation *Setting up of venture capital fund for aiding the cause of benefit claimersSection 21(2) of Biological Diversity Act, 2002

Penalties

If a person, violates the regulatory provisions he/she will be "punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees and where the damage caused exceeds ten lakh rupees, fine may commensurate with the damage caused, or with both." Any offence under this Act is non-bailable and is cognizable.

References

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External links

Biological Diversity Act, 2002National Biodiversity Authority
Acts of the Parliament of India 2002 2002 in the environment Environmental law in India Indian intellectual property law Traditional knowledge Biodiversity Convention on Biological Diversity