Taking active steps towards preserving biodiversity in India

Lex Orbis
Manisha Singh Nair
[email protected]

Genetic resources and knowledge were often derived from communities and countries by organisations and individuals who monopolised the benefits. There was little or no exchange of knowledge and no offer of compensation to such communities. However, the presence of a rich plethora of biological resources and inherited knowledge gave rise to the need for legislation to protect the traditional knowledge and benefits accrued from the use of resources. While a few countries afforded legal provisions for access and benefit sharing, the benefits were usually narrowly defined as tangible benefits (in the form of royalties) and benefit sharing was largely carried out at the government level. Benefits did not reach the traditional owners of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge and local communities and countries of origin were often not informed about the use of their resources and knowledge. This limited their bargaining power and prevented them from sharing in the benefits of their own resources.