First National Report (NR1) on the Nagoya Protocol
Context:
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), in collaboration with the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), recently submitted India’s First National Report (NR1) to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The report details India's implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) for the period between November 2017 and December 2025
Key Highlights of India's Submission:
The submission of the NR1 directly contributes to Target 13 of India’s recently updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).
India's ABS Framework:
India manages access and benefit-sharing through a robust three-tier institutional structure established under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (supported by the Biological Diversity Rules, 2024, and ABS Regulations, 2025).
This structure comprises:
National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) at the apex level.
State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) / Union Territory Biodiversity Councils at the regional level.
Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the local community level.
Foreign Bioresources:
In compliance with the Nagoya Protocol, India also actively monitors the utilisation of foreign-sourced biological resources and their associated traditional knowledge by Indian entities.
About the Nagoya Protocol on ABS:
The Nagoya Protocol is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
It specifically advances one of the CBD's three core objectives:
The fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources.
appropriate access to genetic resources
transfer of relevant technologies
India has signed the Nagoya Protocol on 11 May 2011 and ratified it on 09 October 2012.
The Protocol establishes binding obligations to create greater legal certainty, transparency, and equitable partnerships between the "users" and "providers" of genetic resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (ATK).
It ensures that the benefits derived from genetic resources are reinvested into the long-term conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and fragile ecosystems.