The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act 2023 reshapes India’s Access and Benefit Sharing regime aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Discuss the changes and their impact on traditional knowledge.

Introduction:

The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act 2023 was enacted in August 2023; the CBD COP15 (Montreal) adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework on 19 December 2022 with 23 targets — including the 30×30 conservation target. India's National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan was updated in 2024 to align with the GBF.

Key amendments:

The 2023 Act exempts codified traditional knowledge and AYUSH practitioners using Indian biological resources from prior National Biodiversity Authority approval. It decriminalises offences with monetary penalties of ₹1-50 lakh and rationalises benefit-sharing categories. The Divya Pharmacy (Uttarakhand High Court, 2018) case had earlier upheld AYUSH manufacturer obligations.

Impact on traditional knowledge:

By widening exemptions, the amendment is feared to dilute the consent role of Biodiversity Management Committees and reduce ABS revenue for communities maintaining People's Biodiversity Registers. Critics flag erosion of FPIC standards under the Nagoya Protocol 2010, with the Gadgil-Kasturirangan Western Ghats reports cited as benchmarks.

GBF alignment:

NBSAP (2024) targets 30% of terrestrial, inland water, coastal and marine area under effective conservation by 2030, restoration of 30% of degraded ecosystems, and equitable benefit sharing. CBD COP16 (Cali, October 2024) operationalised the Cali Fund on Digital Sequence Information for community returns from genetic data.

Way forward / Conclusion:

Strengthen the BMC role under amended Rules 2024, codify benefit-sharing percentages by sector, align CITES enforcement with the Wildlife Protection Amendment 2022, build on neem-patent and Divya Pharmacy precedents, and channel Cali Fund flows to communities under MoEFCC by 2027.