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The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has released insights from India’s First National Report on the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS). The report highlights India's progress in implementing a transparent and equitable framework for the utilization of biological resources while ensuring that benefits arising from their use reach local communities and traditional knowledge holders.

Understanding the Nagoya Protocol

• The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It was adopted in 2010 and came into force in 2014.
• The protocol seeks to ensure that countries and communities providing biological resources receive a fair share of the benefits generated from their commercial or research utilization.
• It aims to balance biodiversity conservation with economic development and scientific innovation.
• The framework rests on three core principles: Prior Informed Consent (PIC), Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT), and Fair and Equitable Benefit Sharing.
• It also protects traditional knowledge associated with biological resources and seeks to prevent biopiracy through international compliance mechanisms.

India's Performance under the Nagoya Protocol

• The report highlights India's robust implementation of the Access and Benefit Sharing framework between 2017 and 2025.
• During this period, India granted more than 12,800 ABS approvals, reflecting the growing use of biological resources for research, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, biotechnology, and industrial applications. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and State Biodiversity Boards have played a central role in processing these approvals.
• A particularly notable achievement is India's dominance in the issuance of Internationally Recognized Certificates of Compliance (IRCCs). With over 3,500 certificates, India accounts for more than 60% of all such certificates issued globally, indicating strong compliance with international biodiversity governance standards.
• The ABS mechanism has also generated substantial economic benefits. Revenue collections exceeding ?216 crore have been realized, with a significant share already transferred to local communities, conservers, and biodiversity stakeholders. These funds support conservation activities, livelihood enhancement, and habitat restoration efforts.

Community-Based Biodiversity Governance

A major strength of India's ABS framework is its decentralized institutional architecture.

• The country has established a vast network comprising the National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards, and more than 2.76 lakh Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) functioning at the local level. These institutions play a critical role in documenting biological resources, safeguarding traditional knowledge, and facilitating benefit-sharing arrangements.
• The report also highlights extensive capacity-building efforts, including thousands of training programmes and workshops aimed at strengthening awareness among local communities, government officials, scientists, and biodiversity managers.