The Government of 16th December 2021 has introduced the Biological Diversity (Amendment) bill, 2021 in lok Sabha. The bill seeks to facilitate access to biological resources and traditional knowledge by the Indian traditional medicine sector.
The Main object of the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021, is to:
- reduce the pressure on wild medicinal plants by encouraging cultivation of medicinal plants;
- encourage Indian system of medicine;
- facilitate fast-tracking of research, patent application process, transfer of research results while utilising the biological resources available in India without compromising the objectives of United Nation Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol;
- decriminalise certain provisions;
- bring more foreign investments in the chain of biological resources, including research, patent and commercial utilisation, without compromising the national interest.
The Bill seeks to exempt registered AYUSH medical practitioners and people accessing codified traditional knowledge, among others, from giving prior intimation to State biodiversity boards for accessing biological resources for certain purposes.
The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was enacted to provide for the conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the use of biological resources, knowledge and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
However the 2002 Act imposed a heavy “compliance burden” on Indian medicine practitioners, seed sector, industry & researchers and made it hard to conduct collaborative research and investments.
Further, concerns were raised by the stakeholders representing Indian system of medicine sector, seed sector, industry sector and research sector urging to simplify, streamline and reduce compliance burden in order to encourage conducive environment for collaborative research and investments, simplify patent application process, widen the scope of levying access and benefit sharing with local communities and for further conservation of biological resources.
Therefore, The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill was drafted to relax certain rules in the 2002 Act in order to fast track research and patenting as well as empower local communities to be able to utilise resources, particularly of medicinal value, such as seeds.
