Access and Benefit-Sharing in Biodiversity: ₹5.68 Crore NBA Disbursal, 1,009 Cucumber Varieties and

the Nagoya Principle CA_CATEGORY: Environment and Biodiversity CA_GS: GS Paper II, GS Paper III CA_DATE: 31 August 2026 CA_IMAGE: NO Access and Benefit-Sharing in Biodiversity: ₹5.68 Crore NBA Disbursal, 1,009 Cucumber Varieties and the Nagoya Principle Why in News?

• The National Biodiversity Authority disbursed ₹5.68 crore under the Access and Benefit-Sharing mechanism arising from commercial utilisation of biological resources.
• The money is being channelled to State Biodiversity Boards, Union Territory Biodiversity Councils and a national research institution, linking commercial access to biological resources with conservation and stakeholder benefit.
• With this round, cumulative ABS disbursement by the NBA has crossed ₹191 crore, giving the biodiversity-governance framework a substantial real-world financial dimension. Numbers and Species at the Centre
• Total current disbursal: **₹5,68,18,277, **or about ₹5.68 crore.
• Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus: 139 varieties and 28 hybrids; ₹3.51 crore released to 32 State/UT biodiversity bodies.
• Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus: 662 varieties and 15 hybrids were part of the accessed biological-resource pool.
• Cucumber, Cucumis sativus: 1,009 varieties and 14 hybrids were covered.
• Total NBA ABS disbursement so far has crossed ₹191 crore. State-Level Distribution
• Use in Mains Answers
• Gujarat received ₹88,79,304, the largest listed State share in the current distribution.
• West Bengal received ₹78,08,691; Madhya Pradesh ₹64,90,418; Odisha ₹59,01,641; Bihar ₹45,59,602.
• Uttar Pradesh received ₹36,90,952; Tamil Nadu ₹34,11,119; Andhra Pradesh ₹30,58,472; Chhattisgarh ₹24,82,991; Maharashtra ₹17,57,359.
• Other recipients together accounted for ₹87,77,728, bringing the total to **₹5,68,18,277. **- These figures show that ABS can distribute biodiversity-derived commercial benefits across multiple jurisdictions rather than only at the national level. What is Access and Benefit-Sharing?
• Access and Benefit-Sharing, or ABS, is the principle that benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources should be shared fairly and equitably with appropriate stakeholders.
• Benefits can be monetary, such as fees and royalties, or non-monetary, such as technology transfer, research collaboration, training and conservation support.
• ABS seeks to correct the historical problem in which biological resources or associated knowledge could be commercially exploited without adequate returns to source countries or communities.
• It links conservation with economic incentives: biological diversity gains value not only as raw material but as a resource whose use creates obligations. Convention on Biological Diversity
• The Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, has three core objectives: conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources.
• India is a party to the CBD and developed domestic biodiversity legislation to operationalise these principles.
• The CBD recognises sovereign rights of states over their biological resources, replacing the older assumption that genetic resources were simply a common pool open to unrestricted access.
• ABS is therefore simultaneously an environmental, equity and sovereignty issue. Nagoya Protocol
• The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits is a supplementary agreement to the CBD.
• It was adopted in 2010 in Nagoya, Japan and entered into force in 2014.
• It seeks greater legal certainty and transparency for providers and users of genetic resources.
• For Prelims, remember the linkage: Nagoya Protocol → CBD → Access and Benefit-Sharing; it is not a protocol under UNFCCC. India's Institutional Architecture
• The National Biodiversity Authority operates at the national level, State Biodiversity Boards operate at the State level, and Biodiversity Management Committees function at the local-body level.
• People's Biodiversity Registers document local biological resources and associated knowledge and can strengthen community-level biodiversity governance.
• ABS implementation may involve the NBA, SBBs, BMCs, research institutions, companies and knowledge holders depending on the nature and source of access.
• This multi-level architecture reflects India's federal and community-based approach to biodiversity governance. Biological Diversity Law
• India enacted the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 to implement CBD-related obligations; the law was amended in 2023.
• The legal framework regulates access to biological resources and associated knowledge, benefit-sharing and institutional responsibilities.
• Policy must balance conservation and community rights with research, traditional medicine, agriculture and legitimate commercial innovation.
• Overly complex compliance can discourage research, while weak compliance can enable biopiracy; effective ABS requires calibrated regulation. Why Markets and Traders Complicate Benefit Sharing
• In the present cases, some biological resources were obtained through markets and traders rather than from one identifiable farmer, community or geographic source.
• When provenance cannot be traced to a single provider, direct payment to one individual would be arbitrary.
• The approved modality therefore distributes beneficiary shares among States and Union Territories where the relevant biological resource is cultivated.
• This is an important governance innovation because supply chains often separate commercial users from the original ecological or farming source. Crop Diversity and Genetic Resources
• One species can contain enormous genetic diversity. The 1,009 cucumber varieties and 662 watermelon varieties in the current case illustrate why biodiversity cannot be measured only by counting species.
• Crop genetic diversity provides traits for yield, taste, disease resistance, drought tolerance, heat tolerance and nutritional quality.
• Climate change increases the strategic value of diverse germplasm because breeders need a wide genetic pool to develop resilient crops.
• Conservation therefore requires in-situ diversity on farms as well as ex-situ seed banks, repositories and research collections. In-situ vs Ex-situ Conservation
• In-situ conservation protects species and genetic diversity within natural ecosystems or traditional agricultural landscapes.
• Ex-situ conservation maintains biodiversity outside its natural habitat through seed banks, botanical gardens, gene banks, microbial repositories and captive conservation.
• ABS funds can support both approaches; the current disbursal includes support for repositories, bio-surveys, taxonomy and conservation.
• Neither method is sufficient alone: in-situ systems allow continuing evolution, while ex-situ collections provide backup and research access. Biopiracy
• Biopiracy refers broadly to unauthorised or inequitable commercial use or patenting of biological resources or traditional knowledge without appropriate recognition or benefit-sharing.
• India's well-known policy experience with turmeric, neem and basmati-related intellectual-property disputes helped shape stronger awareness of traditional-knowledge protection.
• The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library is one mechanism used to prevent erroneous patents based on already-known Indian traditional knowledge.
• ABS complements defensive knowledge protection by creating a framework for lawful access and benefit-sharing. Research and Innovation Dimension
• ABS funds can finance taxonomy, repositories and bio-surveys, areas often underfunded despite being foundational to conservation science.
• Microbial genetic resources are increasingly important for pharmaceuticals, industrial biotechnology, agriculture and enzymes.
• Clear access rules can improve legal certainty for researchers and companies while ensuring that commercial value contributes to conservation.
• India must avoid a false choice between biodiversity protection and biotechnology; predictable rules can support both. Equity and Local Communities
• Local and indigenous communities often conserve biological resources and knowledge over generations but may have weak bargaining power in commercial markets.
• Benefit-sharing can recognise this stewardship economically and institutionally.
• However, money reaching a State board does not automatically guarantee community-level conservation outcomes; transparent utilisation and local participation are necessary.
• Monitoring should therefore track where ABS money goes, what conservation activity it finances and who ultimately benefits. Way Forward
• Improve traceability of biological-resource supply chains without imposing unrealistic burdens on small farmers and traders.
• Strengthen People's Biodiversity Registers and local Biodiversity Management Committees as living governance institutions rather than one-time documentation exercises.
• Publish transparent ABS dashboards showing collections, disbursals, recipients and conservation outcomes.
• Invest ABS receipts in taxonomy, seed and microbial repositories, restoration and community-led conservation.
• Align biodiversity law with the Nagoya Protocol while ensuring predictable rules for research, agriculture and biotechnology. Prelims Quick Revision
• Current NBA ABS disbursal = ₹5.68 crore; cumulative disbursal crossed ₹191 crore.
• Okra: 139 varieties + 28 hybrids; ₹3.51 crore to 32 State/UT biodiversity bodies.
• Watermelon: 662 varieties + 15 hybrids; cucumber: 1,009 varieties + 14 hybrids.
• CBD adopted in 1992; Nagoya Protocol adopted in 2010 and entered into force in 2014.
• NBA → national; State Biodiversity Boards → State; Biodiversity Management Committees → local.
• ABS = fair and equitable sharing of benefits from utilisation of genetic resources. Probable Prelims Question With reference to biodiversity governance, consider the following statements: the Nagoya Protocol is linked to the Convention on Biological Diversity; ABS may include monetary and non-monetary benefits; and Biodiversity Management Committees operate at the local level. Which statements are correct? Probable Mains Question Access and Benefit-Sharing converts biodiversity from a passive conservation concern into an equity and economic-governance issue. Examine India's ABS framework in light of the National Biodiversity Authority's 2026 disbursal.