As per the provisions of India’s Biological Diversity (BD) Act 2002, approvals need to be sought prior to the access. The applicants are to be granted approval on the basis of merit, as if they had applied for prior approval as required by the BD Act. In pursuance of the September OM, the NBA processed 73 applications at its 48th meeting held on October 29, 2018. The domestic ABS Regulations detailed out the rates of ABS fees payable and the percentages to be divided among the NBA, the state-level biodiversity boards (SBBs) and the local-level biodiversity management committees (BMCs). In fact, the BD Act imposes penalties for non-adherence with the law.

Source: dna April 02, 2019 01:40 UTC