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New Delhi, Oct 25 (IANS) Recognizing and rewarding local communities for acting as custodians of biological heritage, the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has released Rs 18.3 lakh to biodiversity management committees in UP and Sikkim, an official said on Saturday.
The funds represent an access and benefit-sharing mechanism under the framework of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, an environment ministry official said in a statement.
The statement said that these funds will be used for the activities mentioned under Section 44 of the Act and the relevant state biodiversity rules.
By transferring these funds, the NBA is empowering these local custodians to play a role in biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of their resources. Additionally, the fund transfer is aimed at promoting fair and equitable benefit-sharing, the statement said.
The funds were transferred directly to two BMCs through the respective State Biodiversity Boards, namely Narrau Village Biodiversity Management Committee, located in Akarabad Kaul Taluk, Aligarh District, Uttar Pradesh and Biodiversity Management Committee in Lampokhri Lake Area, Aritar, Sikkim.
A company accessed crop material within the village of Narrau for the production of fermented compounds from lignocellulosic biomass. Another company accessed microorganisms from water and soil samples collected in the Lampokhri lake area for research purposes, the statement said.
Earlier, NBA had released Rs 1.36 crore to local communities in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh by sharing the benefits of commercial use of biodiversity.
This financial assistance was sent through the State Biodiversity Boards of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh to three Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) – Sakharwadi village, Phaltan taluk, Satara district (Maharashtra); Kunjirwadi Village, Haveli Taluk, Pune (Maharashtra); and Kasganj area, Etah district (Uttar Pradesh) – according to a statement from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Each BMC will get Rs 45.50 lakh. This initiative underlines the Government’s unwavering commitment to the principles of equity, sustainability and conservation.
The funds released represent a concrete access and benefit sharing (ABS) payment following the commercial use of microorganisms obtained from soil and industrial waste samples for the production of fructo-oligosaccharide products.
–IANS
RCH/PGH