NBA disburses Rs. 3.79 crore to 33 states and UTs for biodiversity benefits

New Delhi: NBA disbursement of nearly Rs. 3.79 crore will benefit 33 State Biodiversity Boards and Union Territory Biodiversity Councils. The National Biodiversity Authority also released funds to national institutes and a research centre.

In addition, the NBA released funds to the ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR). Through the Haryana State Biodiversity Board, it also supported the Hisar Bovine Sperm Station and Research Centre.

The latest release covers several areas of India’s agrobiodiversity. These include tomato, chilli, brinjal, cauliflower, watermelon, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, okra and mustard varieties.

It also covers deep-frozen Sahiwal cattle semen. Companies paid the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) amounts after accessing vegetable and oilseed genetic resources for research and commercial use.

Bayer Science and Innovation Pvt. Ltd. and HM Clause India Pvt. Ltd. contributed ABS amounts for several vegetable seed varieties and hybrids. Meanwhile, Advanta Enterprises Limited contributed amounts linked to germplasm and mustard seed varieties.

In addition, the Department of Animal Production and Health, Government of Sri Lanka, paid an ABS amount for access to Sahiwal cattle semen.

NBA disbursement reaches key beneficiaries

India’s ABS framework operates under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. Moreover, it aligns with the Nagoya Protocol and promotes fair benefit sharing from biological resources.

However, companies sometimes accessed biological resources through markets, traders or intermediaries. As a result, authorities could not identify the original source of access in some cases.

Therefore, the NBA used benefit-sharing methods prepared by an Expert Committee and approved by the Authority.

The NBA distributed the funds among SBBs and UTBCs based on crop cultivation areas. For this purpose, it used data published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Tomato resources received Rs. 86.56 lakh across 31 SBBs and UTBCs. Meanwhile, chilli resources received Rs. 83.76 lakh across 32 SBBs and UTBCs.

Advanta Enterprises Limited’s germplasm covered bitter gourd, bottle gourd, brinjal, cauliflower, hot pepper, okra and tomato. Consequently, the NBA released Rs. 148 lakh to 31 SBBs and UTBCs.

Cauliflower seed varieties and hybrids received Rs. 26.98 lakh. Similarly, watermelon received Rs. 24.32 lakh, while brinjal received Rs. 7.18 lakh.

The NBA released Rs. 0.57 lakh for mustard seed varieties to ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi. It also released Rs. 0.98 lakh for Sahiwal cattle semen to the Hisar Bovine Sperm Station and Research Centre through the Haryana SBB.

States receive shares based on cultivation

Madhya Pradesh received the largest share at Rs. 46.93 lakh. West Bengal followed with Rs. 44.76 lakh, while Odisha received Rs. 44.08 lakh.

Gujarat received Rs. 34.76 lakh. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh received Rs. 29.21 lakh and Bihar received Rs. 29.20 lakh.

Karnataka received Rs. 21.34 lakh. Chhattisgarh received Rs. 18.49 lakh, while Tamil Nadu received Rs. 16.57 lakh.

Uttar Pradesh received Rs. 16.24 lakh. Maharashtra received Rs. 16.15 lakh, while Telangana received Rs. 9.24 lakh.

Haryana received Rs. 8.76 lakh. Similarly, Assam received Rs. 8.49 lakh and Jharkhand received Rs. 8.14 lakh.

Punjab received Rs. 7.41 lakh and Rajasthan received Rs. 5.17 lakh. Other beneficiaries together received Rs. 13.70 lakh.

Funds support biodiversity and communities

The recipient SBBs and UTBCs must use the funds for biodiversity conservation and community development. For example, they can prepare and update People’s Biodiversity Registers.

The funds will also support in-situ and ex-situ biodiversity conservation. In addition, they will help strengthen Biodiversity Heritage Sites.

Furthermore, the funds will build the capacity of Biodiversity Management Committees. They can also support the socio-economic development of local communities.

As a result, the mechanism directs benefits from commercial biological resources back into conservation and community welfare.

The NBA said the releases support India’s commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. In particular, they support Target 13 on fair and equitable benefit sharing from genetic resources.

The initiative also supports Target 4, which focuses on conserving genetic diversity. Additionally, it contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 2, 12, 15 and 17.

With the latest NBA disbursement, cumulative ABS releases by the authority have crossed Rs. 166 crore. Therefore, the funding further links biodiversity conservation, scientific research and the livelihoods of communities that conserve India’s biological resources.