The story so far: Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has criticised the provisions of the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that is currently being reviewed by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). The law was introduced in Parliament on December 16 last year by the Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, and was referred to the JPC. Mr. Ramesh is a member of the committee, whose chairperson is BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal.
What do the amendments in the Bill deal with?
The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was framed to give effect to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992, that strives for sustainable, fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilisation of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge. To do this, it formulates a three-tier structure consisting of a National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) at the national level, State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) at the State level and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at local body levels. The primary responsibility of the BMCs is to document local biodiversity and associated knowledge in the form of a People’s Biodiversity Register.
