India: The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill-2023, which decriminalises offences linked to biodiversity and includes provisions for sharing the advantages of biodiversity commerce with communities, was approved by Parliament on Tuesday.
By voice voting on Tuesday, the Rajya Sabha approved the bill that modifies the Biological Diversity Act of 2002. On July 25, the Lok Sabha approved the proposed legislation.
The modifications, according to Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav, provide locals and tribals more power while encouraging cooperation.
He noted that the bill would assist in streamlining the patent application procedure.
On December 16, 2021, the measure was introduced in Parliament. Due to worries that the revisions benefitted the business and went against the spirit of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), it was later transferred to a joint committee on December 20, 2021.
On August 2, 2022, the joint committee gave its report to Parliament with the recommendation that the measure might be passed when its recommendations were incorporated.
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