Discuss the significance of the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, in incentivising biodiversity conservation at the grassroots level in India.

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002, enacted to give effect to India's obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992), makes benefit sharing a statutory duty rather than a voluntary gesture. Its ABS mechanism, administered by the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), converts conservation from a cost borne by local communities into a source of income for them.

Creating an economic stake in conservation

• Commercial users of biological resources — seed, AYUSH, pharmaceutical and cosmetic firms — must obtain NBA approval and sign benefit-sharing agreements before access.
• NBA has realised about ₹266 crore in ABS funds, of which roughly ₹145 crore has been disbursed to beneficiaries [1]. In FY 2025-26 alone, ₹21.26 crore was realised, led by the seed sector (₹11.75 crore) and AYUSH sector (₹5.56 crore) [2].
• Communities thus see standing forests, landraces and medicinal plants as revenue-yielding assets, not obstacles to development.

Empowering grassroots institutions

• The three-tier design — NBA, State Biodiversity Boards and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at panchayat level — routes money to the lowest tier; nearly 11,000 BMCs have benefited [1].
• A disbursement of about ₹3.79 crore to 33 States/UTs and national institutes illustrates the working of this decentralised channel [3].
• Preparation of People's Biodiversity Registers by BMCs documents local resources and strengthens community claims over traditional knowledge.

Persisting gaps

• Realisation still exceeds disbursement, and last-mile transfers through multiple tiers remain slow.
• Benefits concentrate in a few high-value sectors and states, leaving many bio-resource-rich regions under-served; several BMCs lack capacity to use funds productively.

ABS has therefore given India a rare fiscal instrument that links commercial use of genetic wealth directly to the custodians who conserve it. Faster disbursal, capacity-building of BMCs and wider sectoral coverage would deepen this promise, advancing both the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the constitutional duty under Article 51A(g) to protect the natural environment.