Discuss the significance of the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 in preventing biopiracy and incentivising conservation.

Access and Benefit Sharing is the core operative principle of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, requiring prior approval of the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) for commercial access to India's biological resources and equitable sharing of resulting benefits with conservers. It domesticates India's obligations under the CBD and its Nagoya Protocol, and is the Act's chief shield against biopiracy as well as its main conservation incentive.

Checking biopiracy

• Prior-approval gatekeeping: foreign entities and IPR applicants using Indian bio-resources must route access through the NBA, converting uncompensated extraction into a regulated, documented transaction.
• Documentation as defence: over 2.76 lakh Biodiversity Management Committees and 2.72 lakh People's Biodiversity Registers create a public record of resources and traditional knowledge, weakening claims of novelty in patent disputes [1].
• Monetary accountability: seed, pharmaceutical and agri-research firms accessing Indian germplasm now pay benefit-sharing dues; NBA has mobilised over ₹266 crore since operationalisation [2], including ₹21.26 crore in FY 2025-26 [3].

Incentivising conservation

• Direct fiscal reward: NBA transfers roughly 85–90% of realised ABS amounts to the concerned State Biodiversity Board for onward disbursal to benefit claimers [1], making conservation financially rational rather than merely altruistic.
• Grassroots reach: around ₹145 crore has been disbursed, reaching more than 10,500 BMCs across 23 States and 4 UTs, over 230 farmers and several State Forest Departments [2].
• Institutional conservers rewarded: periodic releases to SBBs, UT Biodiversity Councils and ICAR research institutes fund habitat restoration, medicinal plant parks, community gene banks and tribal livelihoods [1], aligning with India's updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan presented at CBD COP-16 [4].

Gaps persist — uneven BMC functionality, weak PBR quality and delayed claim settlement dilute impact.

ABS thus converts India's genetic wealth from a freely appropriated commons into a rights-based, revenue-generating asset for its custodians. Strengthening BMC capacity, improving PBR quality and ensuring time-bound disbursal would make it a genuine engine of community-led conservation, advancing both Article 48A and SDG 15.