India: Withdraw proposed Biodiversity Act Amendment Bill 2021 - Statement by Coalition for Environmental Justice in India, Jan 26, 2022

Upholding the Republic of Biodiversity

Demand immediate and complete withdrawal of proposed Biodiversity Act Amendment Bill 2021

A Statement issued by

Coalition for Environmental Justice in India

on the occasion of 73rd Republic Day of India, 26 January 2022

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC)[1] has proposed comprehensive amendments to the Biological Diversity Act 2002 (BDA)[2] by way of the Biological Diversity Act Amendment Bill 2021[3]. Since the proposed amendments are far reaching in nature as well as deeply controversial, the Bill has been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for review. The JPC has invited comments/objections to the Bill by the end of the month.

Under the Doctrine of Public Trust enunciated as law of the land by the Supreme Court of India, natural resources of the country belong to the people, and are managed by the state as a trustee on behalf of the real owners. The unamended BDA recognizes the public trust doctrine as central to the successful implementation of the law.

In this sense, the proposed changes to the Act constitute a well calibrated and clear attempt to progressively undermine and destroy the sovereign rights and control that the people of India have over their biodiversity, bioresources and associated traditional knowledge, a right that is particularly crucial for adivasis, Dalits, farmers, fishers, vaids, hakims, nomadic and de-notified tribes, and such other natural resource dependent peoples whose lives, livelihoods and socio-economic wellbeing are intricately linked to nature.

The Bill contains provisions which promote further centralisation of powers. This is in stark contrast with the law as it exists, which requires biodiversity conservation, protection and its sustainable use in collaboration with State and Local Governments. In this sense, the Bill is contrary to the Constitutional 73rd Amendment (Panchayat Raj) Act, 1992, the Constitutional 74th 74th Amendment (Nagarpalika) Act, 1992, the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 and the Forest Rights Act 2006. The provisions of the Bill also stand opposed to the Principle of Intergenerational Equity, Precautionary Principle, Polluter Pays Principle and a host of other such basic safeguards protecting people