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MPSBB plans to enforce ABS compliance with newly notified guidelines
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Shardul Nautiyal, Mumbai
August 29 , 2015
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Against the backdrop of over dozen cases of non-compliance related to
Biodiversity Act having been dismissed by National Green Tribunal (NGT),
Madhya Pradesh State Biodiversity Board (MPSBB) has formed a state
level committee to resolve issues related to non-compliance to
Biodiversity Act (BD Act) and implement the recently notified access to
bio-resources and benefit sharing (ABS) guideline effective from
November 21 last year.
Cases which now stands dismissed were
pending at NGT for the past two years awaiting the recently notified
guidelines on benefit sharing for final order. Due to lack of uniform
benefit sharing guidelines, which are now notified, MPSBB plans to
implement the ABS notification to be able to collect from domestic and
foreign companies a certain percentage of their ex-factory gross sales
of products using biological resources and traditional knowledge.
As
per the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, Ayush manufacturer has the
responsibility to share details of the source from where the raw
material has been procured and also a certain percentage of the revenue
generated out of the production for its sustainable use.
Cases of
litigations were pending with NGT Bhopal bench of Madhya Pradesh (MP)
and in various benches of High Court of MP. In 2012, companies had moved
to courts when MPSBB asked them to deposit the stipulated amount on
benefit sharing as per the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
Explains
Dr Ram Gopal Soni, former member secretary, MPSBB, "Due to lack of
uniform benefit sharing guidelines, which is now notified, boards of all
the states and NBA have been losing Rs.25,000 crore and Rs.10,000 crore every year respectively since 2004.
Dr
Soni is credited to have initiated the action during his tenure at
MPSBB following which companies moved to NGT. NGT, however, approved the
actions taken by MPSBB. Giving reference of his authored book titled
"Biodiversity Act 2002 - A forgotten Act", Dr Soni, an IFS officer of
1982 batch, having over 30 years experience in biodiversity conservation
explains, "The book offers in detail the procedures required for
implementation of ABS guidelines by State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and
NBA and states that around 95 per cent of benefits collected by SBBs
and NBA will go to local bodies through Biodiversity Management
Committees (BMCs) as per the Act.
While talking about how the BD
Act needs to be implemented, he further explains that the book is a
practical guide to subjects like issuing notices, filing of complaints
in district courts for registering cases against industries for not
following the provisions of the Act and also includes case studies to
understand the nuances of the Act. Though the Act was enacted but it was
not implemented by any SBB or NBA in totality for the past 12 years or
so. "This book deals in length as why it was not implemented, what is
the scope and status of its implementation by different SBBs and NBA,"
he concludes.
BD Act was enacted in the year 2002 with the
objective for conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of
its components and fair and equitable sharing of benefits out of the use
of biological resource, knowledge and for matters connected there with
or accidental there to.
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