Why in News?
Biological Diversity Amendment Bill passed in Lok Sabha. The Bill aims to amend the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

Context:  
The amendment ‘ensures that tribes and vulnerable communities benefit from the proceeds of medicinal forest products.  By decriminalising certain activities, we are encouraging Ayurveda as well as ease of doing business’.

The 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:
o   Any person or organisation (either based in India or not) obtaining any biological resource occurring in India for its research or commercial utilisation.
o   The transfer of the results of any research relating to any biological resources occurring in, or obtained from, India.
o   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: 
o   The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA)
o   The State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs)
o   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:
o   Shall notify threatened species and prohibit or regulate their collection, rehabilitation and conservation
o   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).
 
Exemptions from the Act: 
·         The Act excludes Indian biological resources that are normally traded as commodities.
·         Such exemption holds only so far the biological resources are used as commodities and for no other purpose.
·         The act also excludes traditional uses of Indian biological resources and associated knowledge and when they are used in collaborative research projects between Indian and foreign institutions with the approval of the central government.
·         Uses by cultivators and breeds, e.g. farmers, livestock keepers and bee keepers and traditional healers e.g.vaids and hakims are also exempted.
 
Issues/Challenges with this Act: 
An analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and the Down To Earth magazine on how the Biodiversity Act was being practically implemented, pointed out the following serious shortcomings:
·         There was no data available — barring a few States — on the money received from companies and traders for access and benefit-sharing from use of traditional knowledge and resources. 
·         It was unclear if companies had even paid communities despite commitments.
So the new Bill that seeks to amend the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 aims to:
·         Widen the scope of levying access and benefit sharing with local communities
·         Further conservation of biological resources
·         By decriminalizing certain activities
·         Encouraging Ayurveda as well as ease of doing business
·         Reduce compliance burden
·         Promote collaborative research 
·         Boosts Investments and 
·         Simplify patent application processes.

Significant shift from the Act:  
·         The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 seeks to exempt registered AYUSH medical practitioners from intimating biodiversity boards before accessing biological resources
·         It also aims at easing compliance burden, boosting investment and simplifying patent application processes
·         Environmental organisations have raised concerns about potential for “bio piracy” they say amendments favour industry and there is lack of clarity on benefit sharing with local communities

Significant Provisions of this Bill:  
·         The Bill exempts registered AYUSH medical practitioners from giving prior intimation to State Biodiversity Boards for accessing biological resources for certain purposes.
·         The Bill exempts cultivated medicinal plants from the purview of the Act.
·         The Bill facilitates fast-tracking of research, and patent application process.
·         Violations of the provisions of the law (related to access to biological resources and benefit-sharing with communities) that are currently treated as criminal offences and are non-bailable have been proposed to be made civil offences.
·         The Bill allows foreign investment in research in biodiversity. But, this investment has to be made through Indian companies involved in biodiversity research alone.
·         The new Bill introduces a ‘member secretary’ post to be appointed by the Central Government. The Member-Secretary shall be the chief coordinating officer and the convener of the National Biodiversity Authority and shall assist that Authority in the discharge of its functions under of the Biodiversity Act
 
Advantages of the Biological Diversity Amendment Bill: 
·         Boosting Indian Medicine System: The Bill is expected to give much-needed fillip to the “Indian system of medicine” through a) Facilitating research and patent filing for AYUSH Practitioners, b) Encouraging farmers to increase the cultivation of medicinal plants, c) Empowering local communities to utilise resources, particularly of medicinal value, such as seeds.
·         The Bill is expected to reduce the pressure on wild medicinal plants by encouraging the cultivation of medicinal plants.
·            The Bill intends to expand the composition of the NBA by adding many ex-officio members from different Ministries of the Central Government. This might facilitate the adoption of biodiversity in national policymaking.
·         The changes proposed in the Bill are expected to provide a conducive business environment: By simplifying the patent application process, widening the scope of access and benefit-sharing with local communities, the Bill will provide a conducive environment for collaborative research and investments.

Concerns associated with the Biological Diversity Amendment Bill, 2021:  
Legal experts have expressed concerns that easing the norms for the sector could be detrimental to ecology for reasons like:
  
Paving the way for biopiracy: 
·         According to the 2002 Act, the benefits accrued from the use of traditional knowledge should benefit the communities. The Bill has excluded the term “bio-utilisation.” 
·         Bio-utilization is an important element in the parent Act. The Bill excludes such codified traditional knowledge from the definition of benefit claimants. Excluding ‘codified traditional knowledge’ would be detrimental to the interests of rural and tribal communities. 
·         Further, the Bill allows commercial utilisation and intellectual property rights within or outside India with prior approval of the NBA.
·         The new changes would open a floodgate for biopiracy and commercial utilisation of the biological resources that have been conserved and protected by the local communities for generations.
  
Exemption of AYUSH companies from the purview of law: 
·         AYUSH industries or Indian companies are not the traditional knowledge keepers. In the Divya Pharmacy vs Union of India, 2018 case, the Uttarakhand High Court mandated that all foreign and Indian companies, institutions, individuals must seek prior consent and approval for access and benefit-sharing with the local community.
·         The Bill exempts registered AYUSH practitioners from intimating SBBs before obtaining biological resources. This is a clear violation of the 2018 judgement.

Violation of Forest Rights Act, 2006:   
·         The new Bill violates the Forest Rights Act, 2006 that recognises and authorises the Gram Sabha for prior permission and approval in case of any access to forests. More than 85% of the raw materials for AYUSH medicines come from the forests.
 
The Bill exempts cultivated medicinal plants:  
·         This would allow companies to show the biological resources of the forests (owned or leased under them) as cultivated areas and escape from the requirement of prior approval or share of benefits with local communities. It is practically impossible to detect which plants are cultivated and which are from the wild.

Dilution of penal provisions:   
·         The Bill has not only diluted the penalty provision by replacing imprisonment with fines in the proposed legislation but also replaced the Judge (Court) with a joint secretary-level officer to determine the penalties.
·         The monetary penalty would be nothing for big corporations in the cases of contravention or attempts to contravene.

Mains Question:
  Q: The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2022 presents a complex dilemma for biodiversity conservation in India- Comment.