An Inquiry into the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 in Light of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing

Abstract

India has a well-established access and benefit sharing mechanism under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. The Biological Diversity Act was enacted in the background when the world was witnessing numerous biopiracy cases. The Neem case, Turmeric case, and Basmati cases are the classic examples in which India’s biological resources, as well as the traditional knowledge of local communities, have been found to be misappropriated and patented in foreign countries without any permission from Indian authorities or local communities. The BD Act was enacted against this backdrop to prevent misappropriation of genetic resources and the traditional knowledge of local communities in India and to end biopiracy. The BD Act has become a model legislation for most of the developing countries to fight against biopiracy and to regulate access and benefit sharing relating to genetic resources and traditional knowledge. This article looks into the implementation of the Biological Diversity Act in India in light of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing.