Many companies make commercial products using the natural
biodiversity of India. Most of them are unaware of the regulations governing the
use of local plants for making these commercial products. The local people are
also unaware of the fact that companies have to share profits with them for any
commercial product made from plants indigenous to their area.
This lack of awareness
discerning biodiversity and the biodiversity act 2002 is a problem for India. “Our
biggest challenge is to increase awareness. Both the users and the
beneficiaries lack clarity about regulations and laws ”, said Dr. Meenakumari
Singh, Chairperson at the National Biodiversity Authority of India.
With a rich biodiversity
constituting 9% of all recorded species of plants and animals in the world,
India is a destination for locating newer and better commercial products. This
called for laws concerning how biodiversity in India has to be exploited and
how the local people have to get their equal share of benefits. The Biodiversity
Act was passed in 2002 to address this issue. It deals with how biodiversity of
India has to be used for the benefit of its people, maintaining sustainable
development as its core value. “The Biodiversity authority of India has a
regulatory and a facilitator role”, said Dr. Singh. It regulates how companies
use the biodiversity of India, and it facilitates fair and equal sharing of
benefits with the local people.
Dr. Meenakumari Singh
emphasized the importance of creating awareness about biodiversity laws by citing
the example of Dr. Geeta Pandurang. She practices medicine in Maharashtra. She developed
a medicine for snakebites that prolongs the time available for the patient to
go to the hospital for treatment. This medicine was made from a local plant therefore;
was within the purview of the Biodiversity Act of 2002. “She gave INR 3500 to the
State biodiversity board as the benefit sharing amount. The monetary benefit
was not huge, but it is important to create awareness and inculcate the concept
of sharing benefits with the local communities”, said Dr. Singh.
Published- India Science Wire
No comments:
Post a Comment