Consider the following statements:
- 1.In India, the Biodiversity Management Committees are key to the realization of the objectives of the Nagoya Protocol.
- 2.The Biodiversity Management Committees have important functions in determining access and benefit sharing, including the power to levy collection fees on the access of biological resources within its jurisdiction.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
Both statements are correct. The Nagoya Protocol is about fair sharing of benefits from genetic resources, and in India the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 gives village-level Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) a say in access decisions and the power to levy collection fees.
- ✓ 1. The Nagoya Protocol aims at fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources. India's law for this, the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, requires the National Biodiversity Authority and State Biodiversity Boards to consult the local BMC before decisions on using resources in its area, which makes BMCs the local channel for access and benefit sharing.
- ✓ 2. Section 41(3) of the Act says BMCs may levy charges by way of collection fees from any person accessing or collecting biological resources for commercial purposes from their territorial jurisdiction.
Remember · BMCs are set up by local bodies under Section 41 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. They are consulted on access to local biological resources and can levy collection fees, which is India's ground-level route to Nagoya-style benefit sharing.
Sources
- The Biological Diversity Act, 2002, section 41 (India Code) ↗ “The Biodiversity Management Committees may levy charges by way of collection fees from any person for accessing or collecting any biological resource for commercial purposes from areas falling within its territorial jurisdiction. … The National Biodiversity Authority and the State Biodiversity Boards shall consult the Biodiversity Management Committees while taking any decision relating to the use of biological resources and knowledge associated with such resources”
- Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing, Article 1 (CBD Secretariat) ↗ “The objective of this Protocol is the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·