National Biodiversity Authority Crosses ₹200-Crore Milestone in ABS Disbursement

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has crossed a significant milestone in the implementation of India’s Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) framework, with cumulative ABS disbursements exceeding ₹200 crore. As part of this continuing effort, the NBA has sanctioned ₹8.23 crore in ABS proceeds to 27 State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and 5 Union Territory Biodiversity Councils (UTBCs), arising from the access and utilisation of biological resources associated with Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia), Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), Chilli (Capsicum annuum) and Onion (Allium cepa).

The ABS proceeds were realised from seed companies M/s Nunhems India Pvt. Ltd., M/s East West Seeds India Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Bayer Science and Innovation Pvt. Ltd. in connection with access to these biological resources for research and commercial utilisation.

The biological resources had been accessed through the open market or through traders and hence could not be traced to specific individual farmers, communities or a single identifiable geographic source. Accordingly, in accordance with the modality recommended by the Expert Committee and approved by the Authority, the beneficiary share is being distributed among the SBBs/UTBCs of the States and Union Territories where the respective crops are cultivated.

The distribution is based on the area under cultivation, as published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. This approach enables the ABS proceeds to be channelled towards States and Union Territories associated with the cultivation of the respective biological resources, where direct identification of the individual providers or source communities is not possible.

Among the States and UTs receiving the ABS proceeds, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra emerge as the largest cumulative recipients across the four crops. Madhya Pradesh’s share is supported by its cultivation of Bitter Gourd, Chilli and Onion, while Maharashtra’s position is primarily attributed to its significant share of India’s Onion cultivation area, accounting for more than 49 per cent. The combined ABS amounts payable to the ten largest recipient States/UTs across the four crops are as follows:

The SBBs/UTBCs are required to utilise the funds for activities enumerated under Section 32(2) of the Biological Diversity Act 2002, including documentation and updation of People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs), in-situ and ex-situ conservation of biological resources, restoration of degraded ecosystems, strengthening of Biodiversity Heritage Sites, capacity building of Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) and enhancement of community livelihoods.

The latest disbursement marks another important step in India’s efforts to ensure that benefits arising from the utilisation of biological resources are channelled towards biodiversity conservation and associated community-oriented activities.

The cumulative ABS disbursement of more than ₹200 crore underscores the continued efforts of the NBA to strengthen implementation of the Biological Diversity Act and operationalise the principle of fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of biological resources. The initiative also contributes to India’s commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing, as well as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), particularly Target 13, which calls for effective measures to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources, as applicable.