Thiruvananthapuram,
The Hindu, October 26, 2014
The Nagoya Protocol, an international agreement which
came into effect on October 12, is expected to help the Kerala State
Biodiversity Board (KSBB)implement an Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)
mechanism under which industrial units in the State will be required to
pay for access to biological resources.
Officials
said the legal framework provided by the protocol would come in handy
for the KSBB as it prepares to impose the levy on 2,694 industrial units
in Kerala, including Ayurvedic drug companies, tea and coffee
manufacturers, agro-based units, food processing centres, leather,
cashew, textiles, paper, rubber, coir, spices, wood and bamboo-based
industries and exporters of these products.
How levy will be used
The
companies will be required to pay a certain percentage of the annual
ex-factory gross sales for commercial exploitation of biological
resources and associated traditional knowledge. The levy will be
deposited in the State Biodiversity Fund and utilised for conservation
activities.
The Nagoya Protocol provides a framework
for countries to regulate access to and monitor the use of genetic
resources that can be used for pharmaceutical, agricultural, and
cosmetic purposes.
“As a signatory, India has an
international obligation to formulate and implement an ABS mechanism,”
says Oommen V. Oommen, chairman, KSBB. “We hope to convince the
companies of this commitment.” Earlier, there were apprehensions that
the ABS mechanism would be bogged down by litigation as in other States
where industries had moved courts.
The Ayurvedic
Medicine Manufacturers Organisation of India has proposed a meeting with
the KSBB to discuss the ABS scheme. Prof. Oommen said the offer was
heartening since it provided an opportunity to implement the mechanism
through a consensus approach.
Of the 2,694 industrial
units identified by the KSBB for the levy, 892 are Ayurvedic
manufacturing units. “With a large chunk of the targeted units on board,
it will be easy to convince the rest,” says KSBB member secretary K.P.
Laladhas. The KSBB is gearing up to send letters to all the units liable
to pay the levy, directing them to register with the board.
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