The Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has finally notified uniform guidelines on access to biological resources and benefits sharing (ABS) to boost sustainable use of bio-resources across the country. Uniform guidelines on benefit sharing will also give boost to bio-diversity conservation which was 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.

A national guideline on ABS was finally notified by the Central government at Hyderabad in consultation with member secretaries of state biodiversity boards from across the country, according to an official associated with the development.

A high powered committee set up by the National Bio-Diversity Authority (NBA) had earlier approved and sent the guidelines to the MoEF for approval and notification in the official gazette.

State biodiversity boards hail the 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.

As per the 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.

While Uttarakhand State Biodiversity Board (USBB) and Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board (MSBB) have started sensitising Ayush manufacturers on access and benefit sharing for sustainable use of bio- resources as per the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, Gujarat State Biodiversity Board is in the process of scrutinising around 100 such applications based on the notices served for compliance to the act.      

States like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal and Maharashtra have been able to implement Biological Diversity Act, 2002 towards sustainable use of bio-resources and benefit sharing.

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.

Till date, over 34, 000 Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) and 29 State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) have been set up under Section 22(2) of the Act across the country. Local bodies have constituted the BMCs in respective states as per Section 41 of the act. BMCs also 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.