The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has crossed the ₹200-crore milestone in cumulative disbursements under India’s Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) framework, with another ₹8.23 crore sanctioned to 27 State Biodiversity Boards and five Union Territory Biodiversity Councils.
The latest disbursement relates to the access and utilisation of four major vegetable crops – bitter gourd, okra, chilli and onion – for research and commercial purposes. The ABS proceeds were realised from seed companies Nunhems India Pvt. Ltd., East West Seeds India Pvt. Ltd. and Bayer Science and Innovation Pvt. Ltd.
Since the biological resources were sourced through open markets or traders and could not be linked to specific farmers, communities or a single geographical location, the NBA has distributed the proceeds among States and UTs where the respective crops are cultivated.
The allocation is based on crop cultivation area data published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The mechanism is intended to ensure that benefits reach regions associated with the cultivation of the biological resources when individual providers or source communities cannot be identified.
Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are the largest recipients across the four crops. Madhya Pradesh’s share is linked to its cultivation of bitter gourd, chilli and onion, while Maharashtra’s significant allocation is largely due to its dominant share of India’s onion cultivation area, which accounts for more than 49 per cent.
Among the largest recipients, Madhya Pradesh will receive ₹1.17 crore, followed by Maharashtra at ₹1.01 crore. Andhra Pradesh will receive ₹75.55 lakh, Karnataka ₹65.23 lakh, Gujarat ₹64.06 lakh, Odisha ₹57.63 lakh, Bihar ₹47.63 lakh, Chhattisgarh ₹39.91 lakh, West Bengal ₹36.05 lakh and Uttar Pradesh ₹35.72 lakh. The remaining States and UTs will collectively receive ₹1.83 crore.
The State Biodiversity Boards and UT Biodiversity Councils are required to utilise the funds for activities covered under Section 32(2) of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. These include preparation and updating of People’s Biodiversity Registers, in-situ and ex-situ conservation, restoration of degraded ecosystems, strengthening Biodiversity Heritage Sites, capacity building of Biodiversity Management Committees and improving community livelihoods.
The latest release is part of India’s effort to ensure that benefits generated from the commercial and research use of biological resources are channelled towards biodiversity conservation and community-oriented activities.
The NBA said cumulative ABS disbursements exceeding ₹200 crore reflect continued efforts to implement the Biological Diversity Act and advance the principle of fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of biological resources.
The initiative also supports India’s commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly Target 13 on equitable benefit-sharing from the utilisation of genetic resources.
