New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has realised Rs 2.4 crore under the Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) framework in the last 45 days in connection with commercial utilisation of biological resources, a statement said on Friday.
The amount was received from 10 applications for carrying out activities relating to research and commercial use of biological resources, from entities that belong to seed and animal feed/cosmetic sectors, it added.
The benefit-sharing contributions were realised from the use of various agriculture biological resources, including varieties/hybrids of rice, onion, bitter gourd, mustard, cotton, bottle gourd, brinjal, chilli, cucumber, okra, ridge gourd, tomato and seaweed.
A significant portion of the ABS amount of Rs 2.30 crore was realised for commercial use of mustard and rice hybrids.
Under the ABS mechanism, benefits will be shared with concerned Institutes, local communities, farmers, Biodiversity Management Committees, etc, those who provided the parental lines of seeds.
This system supports livelihood enhancement and encourages the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity at the grassroot level, the statement said.
In recent years, the NBA has introduced simplified and transparent procedures to facilitate compliance and promote ease of doing business, while ensuring that the interests of grassroot level communities remain safeguarded.
The seed sector has emerged as a leading contributor under the ABS framework.
The Authority, however, encourages all stakeholders, including companies across sectors, to comply with the provisions of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, and actively contribute to biodiversity conservation efforts and equitable benefit-sharing.
Notably, NBA realised sum of Rs 3.42 crore from the seed sector in the current financial year 2025-26.
With the latest realisation, the cumulative ABS amount realised by the NBA has crossed Rs 266 crore ($29 million).
Of this, Rs 83 crore has been realised from the seed sector alone, making it the second-largest contributor after Red Sanders.
The NBA continues to play a pivotal role in implementing India’s commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol on ABS, while contributing towards the achievement of National Biodiversity Targets and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework particularly, Target-13.
This target emphasises the legislative measures for ABS mechanism.
–IANS
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