The Union Ministry of Environment & Forests notified a set of uniform guidelines on access to biological resources and benefits sharing (ABS) to boost sustainable use of bio-resources across the country with effect from November 21, 2014. Uniform guidelines on benefit sharing is expected to give a big boost to biodiversity conservation, a neglected subject despite having a Biological Diversity Act of 2002 in place for the last 12 years. The guidelines empower respective state biodiversity boards to determine the amount of benefit sharing to be given by Ayush manufacturers to the state exchequer. A high powered committee set up by the National Biodiversity Authority had earlier adopted and sent the guidelines to the Ministry of Environment & Forests for approval and notification in the gazette. The guidelines on ABS have been held back for the past 10 years due to pressure from the industry groups during successive government regimes as it helped to save companies thousands of crores of rupees that they would have to shell out as royalties every year. The ABS guidelines which took the NBA six years to finalise, mandates collection from domestic and foreign companies 0.1 to 1 per cent of their ex-factory gross sales of products using biological resources and traditional knowledge of the country. As per the Section 7 and 24 (2) of the Biological Diversity Act, manufacturers extracting plant based materials for commercial purposes without intimation to State Biodiversity Boards shall be punishable under Section 55 (2) of the Act with imprisonment which may extend up to three years with fine or five years with fine or both.
State Biodiversity Boards hailed the notification as a welcome change as it lays down uniform rules allowing them to collect from domestic and foreign companies a certain percentage of their ex-factory gross sales. States like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal and Maharashtra have already implemented the Biological Diversity Act and others are expected to follow. According to an official estimate, the guidelines if not implemented could lead to a revenue loss of Rs.10,000 crore annually to the various State Biodiversity Boards. National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) may alone have to bear a loss of Rs. 5,000 crore annually. Meanwhile certain States which have already implemented the Act, have started issuing notices to the Ayush manufacturers not registered with them directing them to do so at the earliest. So far, 28 State Biodiversity Boards and 34,000 Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) have been set up under the Act. Biodiversity Management Committees constituted by the local bodies in States prepare, maintain and validate People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR) in consultation with the local people. PBR gives information about the details of biological resources and traditional knowledge. Effective implementation of the Act and the guidelines is necessary to protect and preserve the precious bio-resources of the country and thereby helping to have a vibrant growth of Ayush industry. And for that total cooperation and support of all the State governments and Ayush manufacturers are necessary.