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Biodiversity Act

Salient Provisions of Biological Diversity Act, 2002
Short title, extent and commencement
Definitions
Functions and Powers of the National Biodiversity Authority

Other Legal Acts
Rules

Biodiversity Act

Salient Provisions of Biological Diversity Act, 2002

Section - 3: All foreign national require approval from NBA for obtaining Biological Resources.
Section - 4: Indian individuals/entities to seek approval before transferring knowledge / research and material to foreigners.
Section - 5: Guidelines for Government sponsored collaborative research projects.
Section - 6: Prior approval of NBA before applying for any kind of IPR based on research conducted on biological material and or associated knowledge obtained from India.
Section - 7: Indians required to provide prior intimation to State Biodiversity Boards for obtaining biological material for commercial purposes. SBB can regulate such access. Growers and cultivators of Biological Diversity and vaids and hakims who are practicing Indian system of medicines and local people exempted.
Section - 8: Establishment of NBA, its composition.
Section - 13: Committees of NBA
Section - 18: Functions and powers of NBA
Section - 19: Approval by the NBA
Section - 21: Determination of equitable benefit sharing by NBA
Section - 22: Establishment of State Bio-diversity Boards
Section - 23: Function of the State Bio-diversity Boards
Section - 24: Powers of State Bio-diversity Boards
Section - 26 : National Biodiversity Fund
Section - 32: State Bio-diversity Fund
Section - 36: Central Government to develop National strategies, plans etc. for conservation of biodiversity.
Section - 36: (1A): Central Government to issue direction to State Governments to take corrective measures for conservation of biodiversity
Section - 36 (3)(i): Impact assessment of developmental projects on biodiversity
Section - 36 (3)(ii): Regulate release of GMOs
Section - 36 (4): Measures for protecting the traditional knowledge
Section - 37: Biodiversity heritage sites
Section - 38: Notifications of threatened species
Section - 39: Designation of repositories
Section-40: Exemption for normally traded commodities from purview of the act.
Section - 41: Establishment of Biodiversity Management Committees by local bodies.
Section - 42: Local Biodiversity Fund
Section - 52 A: Appeals to High Court on the decision of NBA / SBB
Section - 53 B: Orders of NBA / SBB at par with civil courts.
Section - 55: Penalties - imprisonment upto 5 years and or a fine of 10 lakhs or to the extent of damage caused.
Section - 59: Act to have effect in addition to other Acts
Section - 61: Cognizance of offences
Section - 62: Power of Central Government to make Rules
Section - 63: Power of State Government to make Rules
Section - 64: Power to make regulations
Section - 65: Power to remove difficulties

Short title, extent and commencement

This Act may be called the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
It extends to the whole of India.
It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint:

Definitions

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "benefit claimers" means the conservers of biological resources, their byproducts, creators and holders of knowledge and information relating to the use of such biological resources, innovations and practices associated with such use and application;
(b) "biological diversity" means the variability among living organisms from all sources and the ecological complexes of which they are part, and includes diversity within species or between species and of eco systems;
(c) "biological resources" means plants, animals and micro organisms or parts thereof, their genetic material and by products (excluding value added products) with actual or potential use or value, but does not include human genetic material;
(d) "bio survey and bio utilization" means survey or collection of species, subspecies, genes, components and extracts of biological resource for any purpose and includes characterization, inventorisation and bioassay;
(e) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the National Biodiversity Authority or, as the case may be, of the State Biodiversity Board;
(f) "commercial utilization" means end uses of biological resources for commercial utilization such as drugs, industrial enzymes, food flavours, fragrance, cosmetics, emulsifiers, oleoresins, colours, extracts and genes used for improving crops and livestock through genetic intervention, but does not include conventional breeding or traditional practices in use in any agriculture, horticulture, poultry, dairy farming, animal husbandry or bee keeping;
(g) "fair and equitable benefit sharing" means sharing of benefits as determined by the National Biodiversity Authority under section 21;
(h) "local bodies" means Panchayats and Municipalities, by whatever name called, within the meaning of clause (1) of article 243B and clause (1) of article 243Q of the Constitution and in the absence of any Panchayats or Municipalities, institutions of self government constituted under any other provision of the Constitution or any Central Act or State Act;
(i) "member" means a member of the National Biodiversity Authority or a State Biodiversity Board and includes the Chairperson;
(j) "National Biodiversity Authority" means the National Biodiversity Authority established under section 8;
(k) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(l) "regulations" means regulations made under this Act;
(m) "research" means study or systematic investigation of any biological resource or technological application, that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof to make or modify products or processes for any use;
(n) "State Biodiversity Board" means the State Biodiversity Board established under section 22;
(o) "sustainable use" means the use of components of biological diversity in such manner and at such rate that does not lead to the long term decline of the biological diversity thereby maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of present and future generations;
(p) "value added products" means products which may contain portions or extracts of plants and animals in unrecognizable and physically inseparable form.

Functions and Powers of the National Biodiversity Authority

It shall be the duty of the National Biodiversity Authority to regulate activities referred to in sections 3, 4 and 6 and by regulations issue guidelines for access to biological resources and for fair and equitable benefit sharing.
The National Biodiversity Authority may grant approval for undertaking any activity referred to in sections 3, 4 and 6.
The National Biodiversity Authority may-
(a) advise the Central Government on matters relating to the conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of biological resources;
(b) advise the State Governments in the selection of areas of biodiversity importance to be notified under sub section (1) of section 37 as heritage sites and measures for the management of such heritage sites;
(c) perform such other functions as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
The National Biodiversity Authority may, on behalf of the Central Government, take any measures necessary to oppose the grant of intellectual property rights in any country outside India on any biological resource obtained from India or knowledge associated with such biological resource which is derived from India.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Biological Diversity Act, 2002

Source: National Biodiversity Authority(NBA)

Other Legal Acts

Rules

Source: National Biodiversity Authority

Last Modified : 2/21/2020

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