National Biodiversity Authority disburses Rs. 5.68 Crore in Access and Benefit-Sharing Funds for Biodiversity Conservation

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has disbursed Rs. 5.68 crore under the Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) mechanism, stemming from the utilisation of biological resources such as Okra, Watermelon, and Cucumber, alongside specified microbial and agricultural biological resources. The funds were channelled to various State Biodiversity Boards, Union Territory Biodiversity Councils, and the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (NCL). Because these biological resources were accessed from markets and traders and could not be traced to single geographic sources, the funds are distributed based on a modality approved by the Authority for States and UTs where the resource is cultivated. The funds are earmarked for conservation, sustainable use, and other activities under Section 32 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.