The pan-India Campaign for Conservation and Community Control (housed in Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group) over Biodiversity has released a two-part analysis: a study and four sectoral papers analyzing the effect of the 2002 Biological Diversity Act. The study explores whether the Act, alongside the Convention on Biological Diversity, can facilitate access by users and guarantee real benefits to local provider communities. Drawing on the first 108 Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) agreements signed by India’s National Biodiversity Authority, as well as the positions of the Government of India vis-a-vis the international law on ABS contained in the Nagoya Protocol, the study evaluates the ability of the ABS framework to tip the balance in favor of community sovereignty, sustainable use, and biodiversity conservation.
Independent researchers Kanchi Kohli and Shalini Bhutani, associated with the Campaign for Conservation and Community Control over Biodiversity, co-authored the study.