changeadminIndia has launched an updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), at the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The government’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) released the document during a special event called ‘Roadmap for achieving the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) targets and release of India’s updated NBSAP’ on 30 October 2024 in Cali, Colombia.
The updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan is fully aligned with the KMGBF and is a vital roadmap to address the strategies to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, with a longer-term vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050.
India has been blessed with an enormous bounty of nature, fascinating natural ecosystems, magnificent wild flora, and spectacular wild fauna. The country’s rich culture, traditions, folklore, and ethos have immensely helped in the preservation of biodiversity.
Local communities found on the periphery of the biodiversity hotspots in India have coexisted peacefully with Nature for centuries through a mutually beneficial relationship.
India is one of the world’s 17 Mega-diverse rich Nations housing four out of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots – the Himalayas, the Indo-Burma Region, the Western Ghats and Sundaland. The region includes Tiger Reserves, Elephant Reserves, and multiple World Heritage Sites within UNESCO’s framework.
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) adopted the ‘Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF)’ in December 2022 with a Mission 2030 and Vision 2050. The Framework envisages that Parties would fix their national targets that are aligned with global biodiversity targets; update their existing National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP)
India became a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD ) in 1994, showcasing its commitment to biodiversity conservation. Following this, the country developed “India’s National Policy and Macro-level Strategy on Biodiversity” in 1999, which laid the groundwork for more comprehensive biodiversity governance.
Several initiatives have been undertaken in the past decade for the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity through the launch of the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) and MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitat and Tangible Incomes). India’s Ramsar sites have risen from 26 to 85 since 2014 and are expected to reach 100.
The NBSAP aptly summarizes the country’s efforts towards conservation of biodiversity, highlighting achievements, identifying gaps and threats, and describes strategies and result-oriented action points to achieve the 23 National targets set up and adopted in accordance with the Global Biodiversity Targets.
During the event, the Minister of State of MoEFCC, Kirti Vardhan Singh highlighted that the updated NBSAP acknowledges environmental challenges and outlines strategies to address them through ecosystem restoration, species recovery programmes, and community-driven conservation efforts focusing on the restoration of degraded ecosystems, the protection of wetlands, and the sustainable management of marine and coastal areas.
Special Secretary, MoEFCC, emphasized India’s governance framework for biodiversity conservation, exemplified by the Biological Diversity Act of 2002 and its amendments of 2023.
This framework includes a three-tier institutional structure comprising the National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards, and local Biodiversity Management Committees, ensuring effective implementation at all levels.
The MoEFCC is the central agency responsible for coordinating biodiversity conservation efforts across India. The NBSAP update was driven by an extensive consultative process, led by MoEFCC and involving 23 central Ministries, multiple Departments, State-level organizations, communities, and other stakeholders.
The updated NBSAP emphasizes adopting a transformative approach and focuses on an ecosystem-based management approach, a bottom-up approach for implementation, mainstreaming biodiversity, sectoral integration, and inter-agency cooperation.
It also provides insight into the current status of biodiversity across India and trends therein, existing policy and institutional framework, biodiversity expenditure, and potential biodiversity finance solutions.
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