Dabur India used bio resources without approval – NBA

Dabur India used bio resources without approval – NBA

Subject : Governance

Concept :

• Dabur India had been accessing biological resources for commercial purposes without obtaining required approvals, the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) told the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
• The board’s response came after Dabur India had filed an appeal before the tribunal saying the NBA had unilaterally imposed 0.5% of annual gross ex­factory sale price of the product as a benefit sharing component under Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) of the Biological Diversity Act.
• Under the Biological Diversity Act, an Indian entity has to give intimation to the State Biodiversity Board while obtaining any bio­ resources for commercial utilisation.

Biological Diversity Act, 2002

• The act was enacted in 2002, it aims at the conservation of biological resources, managing its sustainable use and enabling fair and equitable sharing benefits arising out of the use and knowledge of biological resources with the local communities.

Salient Features of the Act

• The Act prohibits the following activities without the prior approval from the National Biodiversity Authority:
• Any person or organisation (either based in India or not) obtaining any biological resource occurring in India for its research or commercial utilisation.
• The transfer of the results of any research relating to any biological resources occurring in, or obtained from, India.
• The claim of any intellectual property rights on any invention based on the research made on the biological resources obtained from India.
• The act envisaged a three-tier structure to regulate the access to biological resources:
• The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA)
• The State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs)
• The Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) (at local level)
• The Act provides these authorities with special funds and a separate budget in order to carry out any research project dealing with the biological natural resources of the country.
• It shall supervise any use of biological resources and the sustainable use of them and shall take control over the financial investments and their return and dispose of those capitals as correct.
• Under this act, the Central Government in consultation with the NBA:
• Shall notify threatened species and prohibit or regulate their collection, rehabilitation and conservation
• Designate institutions as repositories for different categories of biological resources
• The act stipulates all offences under it as cognizable and non-bailable.
• Any grievances related to the determination of benefit sharing or order of the National Biodiversity Authority or a State Biodiversity Board under this Act, shall be taken to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).