Workshop on Biodiversity Act, 2002 for Law Students

15 Oct, 2019

The Access and Benefit Sharing Partnership Project in cooperation with the Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board (UBB) conducted an interactive workshop for law students of ICFAI Law School, Dehradun on 15 October 2019. The event aimed to increase awareness among the students regarding biodiversity conservation and the Biodiversity Act, 2002, and to develop their capacity on the legal provisions regarding biodiversity conservation and Access and Benefit Sharing, as provided in the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

Three main sessions were conducted during the workshop i.e. biodiversity and ecosystem services; an introduction to Biodiversity Act, 2002; and an introduction to Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS). The workshop was attended by 168 participants which included both students and faculty.

Dr. Pradeep Mehta, Technical Expert GIZ, welcomed the participants and gave a brief overview about GIZ and its presence (global, national and in Uttarakhand). He also spoke about biodiversity and ecosystem services and their significance.

Mr. Sargam Singh Rasaily, Member Secretary, Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board (UBB) spoke about the Biodiversity Act, 2002 and gave a brief history of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) and how the Biodiversity Act, 2002 was promulgated. He explained the three-tier system of implementation of the Act in India – the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) at the central level; State Biodiversity Boards (SBB) in the states and Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) at village level. Mechanism of ABS and compliance of bioresource-based companies were also discussed.

Mechanism of ABS and compliance of bioresource-based companies were also discussed.

Anil Joshi, Technical Expert GIZ, introduced and explained the ABS mechanism, and how the ABS money is ploughed back to the community for the conservation of bioresources. A film screening on ABS was followed by an interactive session with the students who also received a handbook of the Biodiversity Act,2002. A Q&A session in the end was addressed by the three speakers where they answered various questions related to the Act and ABS put forth by the students and faculty.

A vote of thanks was given by the Dean of ICFAI law school Professor (Dr) Yugal Kishore who thanked GIZ and UBB for conducting the workshop. The institute also expressed interest in future collaborations to conduct a Moot Court Competition and include the Biodiversity Act, 2002 in the course curriculum on Environmental Law.