India as a biodiversity-rich nation has been lauded for its legislative efforts in championing the domestic implementation of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) through its Biological Diversity Act, 2002. Additionally, as a party to the CBD, a global agreement on biodiversity protection, India also sought to implement the Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilisation (Nagoya Protocol) through the existing Biological Diversity (BD) Act framework and the specific Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Regulations under it. The BD Act and its rules along with the ABS Regulations together aim at regulating access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge, and sharing benefits equitably and fairly from the use of such resources and knowledge. In preparation for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the CBD in 2026, India has submitted its first national report on implementation of Nagoya Protocol on February 27, 2026. This commentary examines the submissions of the Indian government in the report with respect to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs). Negation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities The Nagoya Protocol places special obligations on member countries to recognise the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) under the access and benefit-sharing (ABS) mechanism. To elaborate, IPLCs have the right to give prior informed consent (PIC) to the use of their bioresources and their traditional knowledge. This is what is generally known as ‘community PIC’ and it includes the right of the communities to…This article was originally published on Mongabay
