Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill 2021

Biological Diversity Amendment Bill 2021 was proposed by the Government of India. It is a bill that imposes the access and benefit-sharing fee on those companies that use biological resources for their organisational operations. It also provides protection to natural resources. In this study, the discussion will be on the concept of the biological diversity bill, its significance of this bill, its key amendments of this bill, and its impact of this bill. 

What is the Biological Diversity Bill?

The bill regarding biological diversity came into force by the initiative of the Central government. This is the bill that enables the local communities to utilise resources. It also helps and benefits sharing on the companies that use the biological resources. Different objectives of this bill can be seen as sustainable use and the utilisation of bio resources. The aim of this bill was also to make scientific research by using biological diversity for making traditional medicine. The act regarding these helps to maintain a stable ecosystem and also protects natural resources. Biodiversity can also be called the reservoir of the resources for cosmetic products, manufacturing food, and pharmaceuticals. Forests can be considered to be a rich source of food and wild plants. The activities related to it helps in protecting these natural sources.       

The Significance of Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill 2021

Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill 2021 was presented by the environmental minister on 9 December. The main objective of this bill was to use biological resources in the making of traditional medicines. The significance of this bill lies in the fact that by using this bill the government tries to encourage the cultivation of medicinal plants. The conservation of these plants also lies in the bill and the most important factor here is that the cultivation of these medicinal plants can improve the traditional medicine system in India. This is the objective of the amendment bill that allows people the practice the traditional Indian system of medicine.     

Key Amendments of the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill

The amendment of the biological diversity bill has mainly happened two times. In the very beginning, it was first initiated in the year 2002 by the parliament of India. It was created for the preservation of biological diversity in India. On the other hand in December 2021 it was tabled in the Indian parliament by the environment minister. This factor focuses on the plantation of more plants that can help in making medicines. The amendment in this field also focuses on the former traditional system of medicine in this place. The amendment bill of biodiversity is focused on this objective.      

Impact of Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill

The ministry of environment proposes amendments to the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. This act wants to facilitate the commercialisation of the biological resources of India in lieu of focusing on their conservation. This statement was made by the activists of the environment and they focus on knowledge and traditional rights. This act has a great impact on the environment also. People are focusing more on planting medicinal trees for the formation of natural medicines. The government also focuses on the preservation of fauna and flora with the help of this act. It also impacted the uses of traditional biological resources.       

Why Has the Biological Diversity Amendment Bill 2021 Received Criticism Since Its Introduction?

The bill regarding biological diversity has received much criticism since it has come into existence. Critics of this factor felt that the biological diversity of this country can be destroyed through this attempt. It can also be a loophole that can incorporate the interest of people. Another factor regarding it is that it doesn’t get support from all the biodiversity keepers. The absence of the grounded people is another fact of criticism regarding this bill. It is also criticised because it does not focus only on the international commitments of India international. These all are the criticism regarding this amendment bill.     

Conclusion 

Amendment bill regarding biological diversity is a great content of this research. It denotes the idea of the protection of biological resources. According to the bill, a certain amount of fees is collected from the companies that used the biological resources for their organisational operations. The bill has its significance and various objects as one can see from the present research. The study is important because the readers can get a specific idea about the present bill and its various objectives.