National Biodiversity Authority

Press Note for 10th Annual Meeting of State Biodiversity Boards

Day 1: 25th August, 2015

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is organising a National meeting of the State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) at the national level on 25th and 26th August 2015 at New Delhi. This is tenth in the series of such a national conclave since the establishment of the NBA in the year 2003.

2. Recognising the need for continuous engagement and constant dialogue with the SBBs as well as strengthening of institutional framework as an important element in the effective implementation of the Biological Diversity Act (BD Act).

3. The Tenth National Meeting of the SBBs got inaugurated by Shri Ashok Lavasa, IAS., Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India on 25th August. Chairman, NBA and other senior officers of the Ministry also participated in the meeting. Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change will release publications on work of NBA during 2014-15 tomorrow. He is also expected to announce call for nominations for India Biodiversity Awards 2016 which is a collaborative initiative with UNDP-India. Members of the Authority, Chairpersons of the Expert Committees and Chairperson and Member Secretaries of 26 State Biodiversity Boards took part in the event.

4. The two-day meeting to review the progress made on the resolutions adopted in the Environment & Forest Ministers’ Conference held in April 2015, more particularly on the issues such as formation of Biodiversity Management Committees at the local level of every State, documentation of People’s Biodiversity Register, implementation of access and benefit sharing mechanism, notification of threatened species, updating the State Biodiversity Action Plan. It is notable that Telangana and Jammu & Kashmir have notified their state specific rules as a part of compliance of the resolution made in the April meet.

5. It was learnt that the many SBBs are proactive in taking forward the ABS Regulations 2014 issued by the National Biodiversity Authority at their respective States. During deliberations, the SBBs like Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal have shared their best practices on the above score.

6. The experts who participated in the meeting provided clarity on the queries raised by the SBBs especially on the formation of Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs), sharing of benefits to the community, interpretation of certain provisions of the Act, etc.

7. This national meet is serve as a platform to share the collective experiences on the implementation of the BD Act at national, state and local levels and deliberate the way forward to meet the challenges ahead jointly.

Day 2: 26th August, 2015

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) organized a National meeting of the State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) at the national level on 25th and 26th August 2015 at New Delhi. This is tenth in the series of such a national conclave since the establishment of the NBA in the year 2003. Recognising the need for continuous engagement and constant dialogue with the SBBs as well as strengthening of institutional framework as an important element in the effective implementation of the Biological Diversity Act (BD Act).

2. The wrap-up session on 26th August was graced by the presence of the Hon’ble Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India. Mr. Yuri Afanasiev, UN Resident Representative, UN. The Chairman, NBA and other senior officers of the Ministry also participated in the meeting. The Chairman, NBA informed the Minister about the discussion held yesterday and today on various issues such as formation of BMCs, documentation of PBRs, implementing ABS mechanisms, notification of threatened species, updating the State Biodiversity Action Plan etc. Thereafter, Mr. Yuri Afanasiev spoke about the biodiversity conservation measures in India and on the India Biodiversity Award, 2016. Then, Shri Prakash Javadekar announced call for nominations for India Biodiversity Awards 2016 which is a collaborative initiative between Ministry and UNDP-India. He also released information brochures on Biofin in Marathi and Hindi and Achievements of NBA in the year 2014-15. He emphasized on community participation in conservation and management of biodiversity in a meaningful fashion. He also requested the gathering to bring-in innovative ways with people friendly approaches for sustainable use of biodiversity components. The Members of the Authority, Chairpersons of the Expert Committees and Chairperson and Member Secretaries of 26 State Biodiversity Boards took part in the event.

3. This meet served as a platform to share the experiences among the SBBs on the implementation of the BD Act at national, state and local levels and deliberated the future plans and to meet the challenges of effective implementation of the Act .