The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has released Rs. 15.52 crore in Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) proceeds from M/s. Pioneer Overseas Corporation, which developed ten commercial mustard (Brassica juncea) hybrid varieties using India's biological resources. The amount will flow to 26 State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and 3 Union Territory Biodiversity Councils (UTBCs), with the ABS share calculated based on the area under mustard cultivation in each State.

M/s. Pioneer Overseas Corporation bred the ten varieties in-house but the parental lines were sourced from the open market and traders. As no single farmer or community could be identified as the source, the NBA constituted an Expert Committee to work out the modalities for ABS disbursal in such cases.

The modalities suggested by the Expert Committee were approved by the Authority. Accordingly, in cases where biological resources are accessed from intermediaries, the ABS is to be shared among the SBBs/UTBCs where the resource is cultivated. The NBA sourced cultivation-area figures from the ICAR–Indian Institute of Rapeseed-Mustard Research (ICAR-IIRMR), Bharatpur, Rajasthan, and used them to calculate each State's share.

Rajasthan, which accounts for nearly 42 per cent of India's mustard cultivation, is receiving the highest benefit, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. As mustard cultivation is spread across the country, almost every State and Union Territory receives a share proportionately. The top ten ABS receiving States are:

Every SBB and UTBC has to utilise the ABS amount as per Section 32 of the Biological Diversity Act, which includes conservation-linked work; documenting and updating People's Biodiversity Registers; in-situ and ex-situ conservation of biodiversity; restoring degraded ecosystems; strengthening Biodiversity Heritage Sites; building the capacity of Biodiversity Management Committees; improving community livelihoods, among other activities.

The release is part of the NBA's ongoing effort under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, to ensure that when India's genetic resources create commercial value, a fair share flows back to conservation and to the States and communities that sustain that diversity, in line with the Nagoya Protocol and Target 13 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework on fair and equitable benefit sharing.

The NBA has released a total ABS amount of Rs. 182.5 crore so far. It has released Rs. 116.22 crore to beneficiaries across the country in the last 12 months.

About the National Biodiversity Authority

The National Biodiversity Authority is a statutory body established under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, functioning under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. It regulates access to India's biological resources and associated knowledge and implements the Nagoya Protocol's principle of fair and equitable sharing of benefits.

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VM/GS/SK