AN APPRAISAL OF THE BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY ACT, 2002 AND RULES, 2004 – STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Aim: To create basic understanding of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and Rules 2004, along with their strengths, weaknesses, complexities, incongruities and provide some suggestions in them. Background: Biodiversity is the 'variety, variability, between genes, species and ecosystems'. It is very important for the survival of the human beings because it has direct consumptive value in food, medicine, agriculture, industry. Being one of the world's 'mega diversity' countries India, in order to ensure compliance with the Convention of Biological Diversity, 1992, enacted Biological Diversity Act in 2002 and the Biological Diversity Rules in April 2004. They are considered necessary for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and regulate the access to biological resources of the country with the purpose of ensuring equitable share in benefits arising out of the uses of bioresources and associated knowledge to prevent the biopiracy. Review results: Though the objectives of the act are noble it has created confusions amongst the most biologists, researchers, herbal industry, raw drug suppliers and start up entrepreneurs. Along with certain strengths, there are some drawbacks like inadequate access to local communities, non-inclusion of genetic resources and complexities in access benefit sharing and equitable benefit sharing etc. Conclusion: Though the Act and Rules have some salient features there are some drawbacks and weaknesses which need to be rectified. Incorporation of the suggestions mentioned in this article can help in successfully dealing with the loopholes in the Biodiversity Act and Rules. However, till the next amendments in the legislation it is absolutely necessary for everybody in the fields related with the use of biological resources and traditional knowledge related to them to be apprised of the act.