Editorial: Check Bio-piracy
There is a sense of déjà vu in the way the NDA government has been approaching the task of law making. Act in haste and repent at leisure appears to be the mantra. No consultation with stakeholders and no public debate before introducing the Bills in Parliament, that too in a tearing hurry. The developments […]
There is a sense of déjà vu in the way the NDA government has been approaching the task of law making. Act in haste and repent at leisure appears to be the mantra. No consultation with stakeholders and no public debate before introducing the Bills in Parliament, that too in a tearing hurry. The developments surrounding the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill , 2021, followed a similar pattern. The Bill has since been referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for a closer look at the provisions following serious objections raised by the opposition members. The purported focus of the proposed amendments was to facilitate investments, simplify the procedures and reduce compliance but the legislation ended up prioritising commercial trade at the cost of conserving biological resources. In its current form, the Bill would pave the way for bio- piracy and exploitation by the companies engaged in the manufacture of traditional medicines. The amended provisions would mean AYUSH manufacturing companies no longer need to take approvals. This will defeat the very purpose for which the Act was created in the first place. The amended Bill was drafted in response to the complaints by traditional Indian medicine practitioners, seed sector, and industry and researchers that the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, had imposed a heavy “compliance burden” and made it hard to conduct collaborative research and investments and simplify patent application processes. The original objective of the 2002 Act was conservation of biological diversity and ensuring fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the use of biological resources with indigenous and local communities.
The Bill seeks to exempt registered AYUSH medical practitioners and people accessing codified traditional knowledge from giving prior intimation to the State biodiversity boards for accessing biological resources for certain purposes. In the amendment Bill, Section 58 of the original Act was removed, stripping the States of the power to punish the offenders. More importantly, the Bill was prepared without seeking public comments as required under the pre-legislative consultation policy. The amended legislation also exempts cultivated medicinal plants from the purview of the Act but it is practically impossible to detect which plants are cultivated and which are from the wild. While there should be no objection from any quarters over the provisions regarding fast-tracking of research, simplifying the patent application process and decriminalising certain offences, there is a need to bring back the focus on protecting the interests of the local communities and sharing the profits with them. The main focus of the legislation should be to protect India’s rich biodiversity and associated knowledge, check biopiracy and protect biological diversity and local growers through a three-tier structure of Central and State boards and local committees. However, the new Bill clearly favours AYUSH medicine practitioners and Indian companies with foreign shareholding over scientists and local communities.
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