This was evident in the recent meeting held by Bengaluru’s Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) with these companies. While BMC had summoned 14 businesses under the ABS scheme, 13 of them decided to give it a miss. The lone stakeholder who turned up for the meeting had limited knowledge of the rules.
They are of the view that development projects are being taken up without conducting feasibility studies or alternative analyses guided by science — such haphazard expansion of the city while ignoring the essentials of sustainable planning, mobility, and environmental impact will further add to the chaos.
According to data gathered by the Karnataka Biodiversity Board (KBB), only four companies from Bengaluru have come forward to sign the bio-resource access agreement with KBB so far in this financial year (2023-24).
According to the government, the amendment to BD Act will boost the Indian system of medicine, will make the environmental research process simpler, encourage the cultivation of wild medicinal plants, and facilitate businesses using ‘codified’ traditional knowledge.
According to the experts, companies have overlooked the ABS rule due to a lack of awareness. While the guidelines on access to biological resources and associated knowledge and benefit-sharing regulations were notified by NBA in 2014, there has not been rigorous implementation of the rule.