The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is aimed towards conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resource and associated traditional knowledge. While these three objectives are complementary and mutually reinforcing, the Sections of the Act which specifically provide for conservation of biodiversity include Sections 36, 37 and 38.
Section 36 of the Act primarily relates to developing national strategies, plans and programmes for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. Towards this, the Government prepared a National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) in 2008. Thereafter, 12 National Biodiversity Targets developed in line with the 20 global Aichi targets were incorporated in the Addendum 2014 to NBAP 2008.
Section 37 of the Act empowers the State Governments to notify in consultation with local bodies, areas of biodiversity importance as biodiversity heritage sites under the Act.
So far, seven State Governments, namely, Assam, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and West Bengal have notified 12 biodiversity heritage sides under Section 37 of the Act.
Section 38 of the Act provides that the Central Government, in consultation with the concerned State Government, may notify species which are on the verge of extinction or likely to become extinct in the near future as threatened species, prohibit or regulate their collection, and take appropriate steps to rehabilitate and preserve those species. So far, on the basis of responses received from State Governments, notifications have been issued for 16 States and two Union Territories, namely, Bihar, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Daman & Diu under Section 38 of the Act.
The Act is implemented through a three-tiered institutional structure: National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards, and Biodiversity Management Committees at the local body level.
The Madhya Pradesh State Government has set up State Biodiversity Board under Section 22(1) of the Act, and also notified State specific Rules for implementation of the Act.
In Madhya Pradesh, so far 23,743 Biodiversity Management Committees have been set up, and 890 Peoples Biodiversity Registers have been prepared. The Madhya Pradesh State Biodiversity Board has issued advisories to various departments of the State Government to conserve certain species under Section 23 (a) of the Act.
The Madhya Pradesh State Biodiversity Board has also issued guidelines for notification of biodiversity heritage sites under Section 37 in 2017.
In accordance with Section 38, the Central Government in consultation with the Government of Madhya Pradesh has notified 3 species of threatened plants and 10 species of threatened animals in Madhya Pradesh vide notification dated 7.6.2010.
