MoEFCC and NBA launch five-year project to strengthen Grassroots Biodiversity Governance in Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) launched a five-year project titled "Stre...

What Happened

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) launched a five-year project titled "Strengthening Institutional Capacities for Securing Biodiversity Conservation Commitments" to empower local communities through grassroots biodiversity governance.
The project is a joint initiative of the Government of India, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with a grant of USD 4.88 million covering the period 2025–2030.
In Tamil Nadu, the project will be implemented in the Sathyamangalam landscape at the confluence of the Western and Eastern Ghats, covering Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve.
In Meghalaya, it will be implemented across the Garo Hills region, covering the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, Balpakram National Park, and Siju Wildlife Sanctuary.
The project will integrate biodiversity conservation into Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) and advance innovative financing mechanisms, with special emphasis on women, Scheduled Castes, and tribal communities.

Static Topic Bridges

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and Biodiversity Management Committees

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (enacted as No. 18 of 2003) establishes India's three-tier institutional framework for biodiversity governance: the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) at the national level, State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) at the state level, and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the local body level. Section 41 of the Act mandates every local body to constitute a BMC within its jurisdiction for promoting conservation, sustainable use, and documentation of biological diversity. BMCs are also required to prepare People's Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) in consultation with local communities.

NBA was established in 2003 under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002; its headquarters is in Chennai.
Section 41 mandates every local body (gram panchayat, municipality) to constitute a Biodiversity Management Committee.
BMC composition: a chairperson and up to 6 nominated members; at least one-third must be women and at least 18% must belong to SC/ST communities.
BMCs prepare People's Biodiversity Registers (PBRs), which document local biodiversity — habitats, folk varieties, cultivars, domesticated breeds, and traditional knowledge.
BMCs must be consulted by the NBA and SBBs on matters relating to use of biological resources and associated knowledge within their jurisdiction.

Connection to this news: The project directly operationalises the Section 41 mandate by building institutional capacity of BMCs in ecologically sensitive landscapes, linking grassroots biodiversity documentation to formal governance planning through GPDPs.

India is a signatory to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS), adopted in 2010 under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and ratified by India in 2012. The Protocol requires nations to ensure that communities whose traditional knowledge and genetic resources are used receive a fair share of the benefits. India operationalises this through benefit-sharing provisions under the Biological Diversity Act and through BMCs, which act as the frontline institutions for ABS compliance.

The Nagoya Protocol was adopted in Nagoya, Japan in 2010 under the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992).
India ratified the Nagoya Protocol in 2012.
The Protocol establishes Prior Informed Consent (PIC) and Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT) as prerequisites for accessing genetic resources.
NBA issues approvals for access to biological resources and associated traditional knowledge, ensuring ABS compliance.
GEF (Global Environment Facility) funds projects aligned with CBD commitments — this project is funded under GEF-7.

Connection to this news: The MoEFCC–NBA project advances India's Nagoya Protocol obligations by strengthening the very institutions — BMCs — responsible for prior informed consent, benefit sharing, and traditional knowledge documentation at the community level.

Gram Panchayat Development Plans and Biodiversity Mainstreaming

Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) are annual convergence plans prepared by gram panchayats, mandated under the Panchayati Raj system, that consolidate schemes across 29 subjects of the 11th Schedule. Integrating biodiversity considerations — habitat protection, species conservation, invasive species control — into GPDPs is called "biodiversity mainstreaming." It ensures that conservation is not siloed in forest departments but is embedded in local development planning.

GPDPs are prepared annually by gram panchayats, typically covering infrastructure, livelihood, health, education, and environment.
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act (1992) and the 11th Schedule provide the constitutional framework for panchayat functions, including environment protection and social forestry.
Biodiversity mainstreaming into GPDPs aligns community development with ecological priorities, making conservation a livelihood strategy rather than a restriction.
The project's focus on tribal communities in Meghalaya (Garo Hills) also engages with the Sixth Schedule governance framework applicable to tribal areas of north-eastern states.

Connection to this news: By "greening" GPDPs in the project landscapes, the initiative embeds biodiversity conservation into the annual cycle of local development planning — creating structural incentives for communities to protect ecosystems as part of their development agenda.

Key Facts & Data

Project title: "Strengthening Institutional Capacities for Securing Biodiversity Conservation Commitments"
Project duration: 2025–2030 (five years)
Funding: USD 4.88 million grant (GoI + GEF + UNDP — GEF-7 round)
Implementing agencies: MoEFCC and National Biodiversity Authority (NBA, HQ: Chennai)
Tamil Nadu site: Sathyamangalam landscape — Mudumalai Tiger Reserve + Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (confluence of Western and Eastern Ghats)
Meghalaya site: Garo Hills — Nokrek Biosphere Reserve + Balpakram National Park + Siju Wildlife Sanctuary
Legal basis: Biological Diversity Act, 2002; Section 41 (BMCs)
BMC mandate: People's Biodiversity Registers (PBRs); consultation on ABS matters
NBA established: 2003; HQ: Chennai
Special focus: Women, Scheduled Castes, and tribal communities
Global framework: Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992; Nagoya Protocol, 2010 (ratified by India in 2012)