Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)
"The framework for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, governed globally by the Nagoya Protocol and implemented in India under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002."
Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) is the principle that the monetary and non-monetary benefits arising from the commercial or research use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge must flow back fairly and equitably to the communities and nations that conserve them. It operationalises the third objective of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, 1992) and is given binding legal form by the Nagoya Protocol, adopted on 29 October 2010 and in force from 12 October 2014. India implements ABS through the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (amended in 2023), which works through a three-tier institutional structure: the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) at the national level (headquartered in Chennai), State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) at the state level, and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the local level. Foreign entities need prior NBA approval to access Indian biological resources, while Indian entities register with or seek approval from the relevant authority and pay ABS fees. As disclosed in 2026, the NBA has mobilised over Rs 266 crore through ABS since 2008, with funds routed to BMCs, farmers, and forest departments for conservation, livelihoods, and documentation of traditional knowledge.
GS3 Environment. Prelims: CBD (1992) and its three objectives, Nagoya Protocol (adopted 2010, in force 2014), Biological Diversity Act 2002 and the 2023 amendment, the NBA, SBB, BMC three-tier structure, People's Biodiversity Registers, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Mains: balancing biodiversity conservation with bio-economy growth, equity for local and tribal communities, decentralised environmental governance, and India's compliance with international ABS norms including the emerging issue of Digital Sequence Information.
- 1 The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992 sets ABS as one of its three core objectives, alongside conservation and sustainable use.
- 2 The Nagoya Protocol, adopted on 29 October 2010 and in force from 12 October 2014, is the binding international ABS instrument under the CBD.
- 3 India implements ABS through the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, amended in 2023 to ease compliance, decriminalise offences, and empower State Biodiversity Boards.
- 4 The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), headquartered in Chennai, is the apex body that clears access by foreign entities and oversees benefit sharing.
- 5 A three-tier structure runs the law: NBA at the national level, State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) at the state level, and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the local level.
- 6 As disclosed in 2026, the NBA has mobilised over Rs 266 crore through ABS since 2008, with around Rs 145 crore disbursed to beneficiaries.
- 7 Red Sanders contributed the largest share at about Rs 120 crore (45 per cent), followed by the seed sector at about Rs 84.61 crore (32.3 per cent).
- 8 ABS funds support over 10,500 BMCs across 23 states and 4 union territories, more than 230 farmers, and six state forest departments.
- 9 People's Biodiversity Registers (PBRs), prepared by BMCs, document local biodiversity and traditional knowledge, anchoring ABS claims and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets.
When a pharmaceutical or seed company commercially uses a genetic resource such as Red Sanders sourced from Indian forests, it pays an ABS fee to the NBA, which channels the benefit back to the local Biodiversity Management Committees and communities that conserve that resource.
