Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has issued a draft notification related to guidelines on access to biological resources and benefits sharing to boost sustainable use of bio-resources across the country.

State biodiversity boards hail the draft notification as a welcome change as it will notify uniform rules thus allowing them to collect from domestic and foreign companies a certain percentage of their ex-factory gross sales of products using biological resources and traditional knowledge. Following the draft notification, a national guideline on benefit sharing for Ayush units will be notified by the Central government shortly, according to officials associated with the development.   

As per the draft notification, when the biological resources are accessed for commercial utilisation or the bio-survey and bio-utilisation leads to commercial utilisation, the applicant shall have the option to pay the benefit sharing ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 per cent at the following graded percentages of the annual gross ex-factory sale of the product which shall be worked out based on the annual gross ex - factory sale minus government taxes.

As per the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, Ayush manufacturer has the responsibility to share details of the source from where the raw material has been procured and also a certain per cent of the revenue generated out of the production for its sustainable use.

In order to implement the act, state biodiversity boards across the country had started issuing notices to the Ayush manufacturers not registered with them, a few months ago, directing them to do so at the earliest.

According to Section 7 and 24(2) of the Act, organisations extracting plant based material for commercial purpose without intimation to state biodiversity board are liable under Section 55(2) of the Act and shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend up to three years with fine or five years with fine or both.

Uniform guidelines on benefit sharing will also give boost to bio-diversity conservation which was a hitherto a neglected subject despite a Biological Diversity Act of 2002 in place. The guidelines will allow and empower respective state biodiversity boards to determine the amount of benefit sharing to be given by Ayush manufacturers to the state exchequer.

Informs a source associated with the development, "Till date, there is no clarity on the amount of benefit sharing to be accrued from the Ayush manufacturer annually. A high powered committee set up by the National Bio-Diversity Authority (NBA) had approved and sent the guidelines to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) for approval and notification in the official gazette. MOEF has now sent it to the Law Ministry and this would soon take shape in the form of notification."

Meanwhile, National Green Tribunal (NGT) is also awaiting a clear-cut and well-defined guideline on benefit sharing for its effective implementation. This move from the tribunal comes in the wake of over dozen such cases of litigations pending in NGT Bhopal bench of Madhya Pradesh (MP) and in various benches of High Court of MP. Around 22 such cases are in the process of being handed over to NGT from the respective benches of High Court at Jabalpur, Indore and Gwalior. In 2010, companies had moved to courts when Madhya Pradesh State Biodiversity Board (MPSBB) asked them to deposit the stipulated amount on benefit sharing as per the act.

Explains Dr R G Soni, former member secretary, Madhya Pradesh State Biodiversity Board (MPSBB), "Cases are pending at NGT for final order which is awaiting notified guidelines of benefit sharing. Due to lack of proper benefit sharing guidelines boards of all the states were losing Rs. 25,000 crore every year since 2004. Similarly, NBA is losing Rs. 10,000 crore every year since 2004. "

Dr Soni is credited to have initiated the action during his tenure at MPSBB following which companies moved to NGT. However, NGT approved the actions taken by MPSBB finally.

The notice served by different state boards as per the act states that the manufacturer is required to furnish information like name and address of the company, name of panchayat or nagar palika from where raw materials are procured, name and quantity of biological resources used annually, area and annual production (year wise) and annual gross turnover (gross revenue). State biodiversity boards set up in different states started issuing notices to the manufacturers not registered with them, a few months ago, directing them to do so at the earliest.

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 64 read with sub-section (1) of section 18 and sub-section (4) of section 21 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (18 of 2003), Hereinafter referred to as the Act, and in pursuance of the Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity dated the 29 October, 2010, the National Biodiversity Authority hereby makes the following regulations on access to biological resources and benefits sharing.