In a major step towards strengthening grassroots biodiversity conservation, National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has released Rs 1.36 crore to empower local communities in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. The initiative aims to ensure that these communities receive fair and equitable benefits from the commercial use of biological resources, in line with India’s commitment to sustainable development and resource sharing.
According to the NBA, the funds will be channelled through the State Biodiversity Boards of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh to three Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs), Sakharwadi village in Satara district, Kunjirwadi village in Pune, and the Kasganj area in Etah district. Each BMC will receive Rs 45.50 lakh to undertake biodiversity conservation activities as per Section 44 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, and relevant state biodiversity rules.
The financial release represents Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) payments made by a commercial entity that accessed microorganisms from soil and industrial effluent samples for the production of Fructo-oligosaccharides, compounds widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. This serves as a tangible example of how communities can directly benefit from the sustainable use of biological resources in their regions.
The move reflects the government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen biodiversity governance while recognising and rewarding local communities for their role as custodians of India’s biological wealth. By redirecting the benefits of commercial use back to the grassroots, the NBA aims to link conservation with livelihood enhancement and social development.
The initiative also aligns with India’s National Biodiversity Target-13 outlined in the updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 2024–2030, which corresponds with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s 15th Conference of Parties (CoP-15).
