16th National Meet of State Biodiversity Boards begins in Chandigarh
Centre calls fors stronger biodiversity Governance
Ravi Jakhu
Chandigarh, September 6, 2026: The 16th National Meet of State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and Union Territory Biodiversity Councils (UTBCs) was inaugurated in Chandigarh on Sunday, bringing together senior officials, experts and scientists to deliberate on strengthening biodiversity governance at the state and local levels.
Organised by the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), the two-day meet is being held from September 6 to 7 and is attended by Chairpersons and Member Secretaries of SBBs and UTBCs from across the country.
The inaugural session was presided over by Punjab Governor and Administrator of Chandigarh, Gulab Chand Kataria, Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav, and Haryana Environment and Forest Minister Rao Narbir Singh.
Addressing the gathering, Kataria highlighted India’s rich biological heritage and traditional environmental practices, stressing the need to combine traditional knowledge and community participation with contemporary approaches to biodiversity conservation.
He underlined the close links between ecological security, food and water security, livelihoods and sustainable development. He also highlighted the ecological importance of wetlands, riverine ecosystems and agricultural biodiversity, while calling for stronger Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs), People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) and coordination between biodiversity institutions and local communities.
States, UTs urged to align biodiversity governance with amended framework
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 and the Biological Diversity Rules, 2024 had further strengthened and streamlined India’s biodiversity governance framework.
He urged States and Union Territories to align their rules, institutional mechanisms and implementation processes with the amended national framework.
Yadav also highlighted India’s progress in meeting its international biodiversity commitments, including the submission of the 7th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the 1st National Report on the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing.
Emphasising the importance of grassroots-level implementation, the Minister called for making more than 2.76 lakh Biodiversity Management Committees functional and effective across the country.
He said People’s Biodiversity Registers should evolve beyond being merely documentation exercises and become dynamic planning instruments for local bodies, allowing information on local biodiversity and traditional knowledge to contribute to local planning and sustainable development.
Over ₹200 crore in Access and Benefit Sharing funds distributed
On Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), Yadav said the National Biodiversity Authority had shared more than ₹200 crore in ABS funds with farmers, local communities, Biodiversity Management Committees, State Biodiversity Boards, Union Territory Biodiversity Councils and research institutions.
He stressed that the ABS mechanism should provide tangible benefits to local communities while supporting biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods.
Knowledge products, including a document detailing the NBA’s achievements over the past year and providing an overview of the ABS scheme and distribution of funds, were also released during the event.
Focus on biodiversity and climate action
Yadav also highlighted the links between biodiversity conservation and climate action, noting that India has adopted a ‘Whole of Government’ and ‘Whole of Society’ approach to environmental conservation.
He referred to India’s Updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 2024–2030, which is aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).
He called for measurable outcomes in ecosystem restoration, species and habitat conservation, agro-biodiversity and climate-resilient landscapes. States and Union Territories were also encouraged to contribute to the global 30-by-30 conservation target.
Haryana Environment and Forest Minister Rao Narbir Singh highlighted the state’s efforts towards biodiversity conservation and restoration. He stressed the importance of strengthening biodiversity governance at the state and local levels and called for enhanced training and capacity building of Biodiversity Management Committees and local communities.
The two-day meet will provide States and Union Territories an opportunity to share experiences, innovations and implementation challenges. Discussions will focus on strengthening institutional mechanisms, improving the functioning of Biodiversity Management Committees, enhancing the quality and use of People’s Biodiversity Registers, building local capacities and ensuring more effective implementation of the biodiversity governance framework at the grassroots level.