A national plan, built from below ? — The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, India

Abstract

The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), formulated from 2000 to 2003, was envisaged as a comprehensive action plan for conserving biodiversity in India, that would adequately reflect the aspirations of the hitherto marginalised peoples who have a direct stake in biodiversity conservation. For the first time, a truly participatory approach was adopted for environmental conservation and planning in India. For a country of India's size, biological and cultural diversity and immense social and economic divides, this has been no easy task for Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group, the NGO with whom the Government of India is collaborating to formulate the NBSAP. In this article, the process and products of the NBSAP are reviewed, outlining its aims, the extent to which these have been met and the limitations in the process of its formulation. Through 33 state-level, 18 local-level and 10 inter-state level plans, the draft National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) recommends a series of bold measures to ensure that the country's ecological security is ensured. These measures call for a major reorientation of the process of economic development and of governance of natural resources, such that the health of the environment, and the livelihoods of biomass-dependent communities become central to all planning. The NBSAP process has been highly successful with respect to degree of involvement of local communities, development of linkages with ongoing conservation action, integration of cross-cutting issues such as globalisation and livelihood into conservation planning, and comprehensive assessment of various aspects of biodiversity. Implementation of the NBSAP has already begun in parts of nine states without external support, showing the high level of impact it has had on active citizens’ groups and governmental bodies. However, the planning process suffered from a number of inadequacies such as ineffective networking with some critical sections of the public such as religious leaders and corporate houses and unsatisfactory degree of involvement of women.