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Biological Diversity Act 2002: Objectives and Definitions

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is India's law that gives effect to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It aims at conserving biodiversity, using its components sustainably and sharing benefits fairly. To answer questions, state the objective, then apply the Section 2 definitions (access, biological resource, commercial utilisation, benefit claimers) to the facts.

Understand Biological Diversity Act 2002: Objectives and Definitions

Biodiversity means the variety of living organisms from all sources, the ecosystems they form, and diversity within and between species. Countries rich in such resources, like India, found that foreign firms were collecting plants and traditional knowledge and patenting products without sharing gains. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) responded by recognising that states have sovereign rights over their biological resources.

The CBD has three broad objectives: conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources. India is a party to the CBD and enacted the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 to implement these commitments. The Act extends to the whole of India (Section 1(2)).

The Act works through a simple idea: if you take a biological resource or associated traditional knowledge for research, bio-survey or commercial use, you must follow a regulated route and share benefits with those who conserve the resource or hold the knowledge. The regulators are the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), State Biodiversity Boards and local Biodiversity Management Committees. These are covered in separate topics.

The definitions in Section 2 decide who is caught and what is caught. Access means collecting, procuring or possessing any biological resource occurring in or obtained from India, or associated traditional knowledge, for research, bio-survey or commercial utilisation. Biological resources include plants, animals, micro-organisms or parts of their genetic material and derivatives, with actual or potential use or value for humanity. They exclude value added products and human genetic material.

Exam answers are built on these terms. Learn each definition with its inclusions and exclusions, because the exclusions are where case-based questions are set. For example, a value added product holds portions or extracts of plants and animals in unrecognisable and physically inseparable form, so it is outside biological resources. Commercial utilisation excludes conventional breeding and traditional practices in agriculture, horticulture, poultry, dairy farming, animal husbandry and bee keeping.

Key rules to remember

Aims of the Act (CBD-based): Conservation + Sustainable use + Fair and equitable benefit sharing; The three objectives of the CBD, which the Act implements in India.
Access (Section 2(a)): Collecting, procuring or possessing a biological resource from India or associated traditional knowledge, for research, bio-survey or commercial utilisation; Purpose matters. Access for none of these purposes is not 'access' under the Act.
Biological resources (Section 2(c)): Plants, animals, micro-organisms or parts of their genetic material and derivatives, with actual or potential use or value for humanity; excludes value added products and human genetic material; Two exclusions to remember.
Value added products (Section 2(p)): Products containing portions or extracts of plants and animals in unrecognisable and physically inseparable form; Outside the meaning of biological resources.
Commercial utilisation (Section 2(f)): End uses such as drugs, industrial enzymes, food flavours, fragrance, cosmetics, emulsifiers, oleoresins, colours, extracts and genes for improving crops and livestock through genetic intervention; excludes conventional breeding and traditional practices in agriculture, horticulture, poultry, dairy farming, animal husbandry, bee keeping; The list is illustrative ('such as'). The exclusion is specific.
Bio-survey and bio-utilisation (Section 2(d)): Survey or collection of species, subspecies, genes, components and extracts of a biological resource for any purpose, including characterisation, inventorisation and bioassay; Note the words 'for any purpose'.
Benefit claimers (Section 2(aa)): Conservers of biological resources and their by-products, and creators or holders of associated traditional knowledge (excluding codified traditional knowledge only for Indians), and information on their use; They are the people for whom benefit sharing is meant.
Codified traditional knowledge (Section 2(ea)): Knowledge derived from authoritative books specified in the First Schedule to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940; Used in exemptions and in the benefit claimers definition.
Benefit sharing modes (Section 21(2)): Joint IPR ownership; transfer of technology; location of units; association of Indian scientists and local people; venture capital fund; monetary and non-monetary benefits; The NBA determines them subject to regulations.

How to solve Biological Diversity Act 2002: Objectives and Definitions questions

Use this method for definition, objective and short case questions on the Act.

1Identify what is asked: objective, a definition, or whether a given facts situation falls within the Act.
2Start with the background: the CBD, its three objectives and India's implementation through the 2002 Act.
3Quote or paraphrase the relevant Section 2 definition in plain words, with its section number only if sure.
4List the inclusions and the exclusions of that definition, such as value added products or conventional breeding.
5Apply to the facts: ask what is taken, from where, for what purpose and by whom.
6Conclude clearly: the activity is or is not 'access', 'biological resource' or 'commercial utilisation', and mention that the approval route follows from who the person is (Sections 3 and 7).
7Add one practical compliance point, such as seeking NBA approval or giving prior intimation to the State Biodiversity Board.

Quickest way: Four-question test for case facts

When to use it: When a short fact-based question asks whether the Act applies.

What is taken? Check it is a plant, animal, micro-organism, genetic part or derivative, not a value added product or human genetic material.
Is it from India or associated knowledge from India?
Is the purpose research, bio-survey or commercial utilisation?
Who is the person? Foreign or non-resident or foreign-participated body: NBA approval (Section 3). Others: prior intimation to the State Board for commercial use (Section 7), subject to exemptions.

Common mistakes in Biological Diversity Act 2002: Objectives and Definitions

Treating value added products as biological resources.
Students assume anything derived from a plant is covered.
Fix: Remember the exclusion: extracts in unrecognisable and physically inseparable form are outside Section 2(c).
Saying human genetic material is covered.
The word 'genetic material' suggests all organisms.
Fix: State that biological resources do not include human genetic material.
Including conventional breeding and traditional farm practices in commercial utilisation.
Students remember only the list of end uses.
Fix: Add the exclusion for conventional breeding and traditional practices in agriculture, horticulture, poultry, dairy farming, animal husbandry and bee keeping.
Defining benefit claimers as anyone living near the resource.
Loose reading of 'local people'.
Fix: Benefit claimers are conservers of biological resources and creators or holders of associated traditional knowledge, excluding codified traditional knowledge only for Indians.
Listing only conservation as the aim.
The title 'biological diversity' leads to a one-sided answer.
Fix: Always give all three: conservation, sustainable use and fair and equitable benefit sharing.
Confusing access with any possession of a plant.
Ignoring the purpose limb of the definition.
Fix: Access requires collecting, procuring or possessing for research, bio-survey or commercial utilisation.

Worked examples

Example 1

Explain the background and objectives of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

Show the solution

Background: the Convention on Biological Diversity recognised national sovereignty over biological resources and set three objectives.
The objectives are conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources.
India is a party to the CBD and enacted the 2002 Act to give effect to these objectives; it extends to the whole of India.
Sustainable use means use of components of biodiversity in a manner and at a rate that does not lead to long-term decline, keeping potential for present and future generations.
The Act implements the aims through regulation of access and a three-tier structure: NBA, State Biodiversity Boards and Biodiversity Management Committees, with benefit sharing determined by the NBA.

Answer: The Act is India's implementation of the CBD. Its aims are conservation, sustainable use and fair and equitable benefit sharing, achieved by regulating access to biological resources and associated knowledge.

Example 2

Gulmohar Herbals Pvt Ltd, an Indian company with no foreign shareholding, buys a soap containing a plant extract in unrecognisable, inseparable form and sells it. Separately, a Pune farmer crosses two local paddy varieties by conventional breeding for his own farm. Does the Act's definition of biological resource or commercial utilisation apply to either?

Show the solution

Soap with extract: the extract is in unrecognisable and physically inseparable form, so the soap is a value added product.
Section 2(c) excludes value added products from biological resources, so this is not a biological resource and trading it is not 'access'.
Farmer: crossing varieties is conventional breeding.
Section 2(f) excludes conventional breeding and traditional agricultural practices from commercial utilisation.
Therefore neither activity is regulated as commercial utilisation of a biological resource under these definitions.

Answer: Neither activity falls within the definitions: the soap is a value added product, and conventional breeding is excluded from commercial utilisation.

Exam tips

Write the CBD background in two lines and then the three objectives; examiners reward the link to the Act.
Learn definitions with their exclusions; case questions are built on them.
Do not quote section numbers unless certain; Sections 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 21 are safe from the text.
Close fact-based answers with a practical step: seek NBA approval or give prior intimation to the State Board.
Use short bullet lists for benefit sharing modes under Section 21(2).

Practice questions from Biological Diversity

Biological Diversity Act 2002: Objectives and Definitions: frequently asked questions

What are the objectives of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002?

The Act implements the Convention on Biological Diversity. Its aims are conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from use of biological resources and knowledge.

Are value added products biological resources under the Act?

No. Section 2(c) excludes value added products, which contain portions or extracts of plants and animals in unrecognisable and physically inseparable form. Human genetic material is also excluded.

Who are benefit claimers?

They are conservers of biological resources and their by-products, and creators or holders of associated traditional knowledge and related information. Codified traditional knowledge is excluded only for Indians.

What does commercial utilisation mean?

It means end uses of biological resources such as drugs, enzymes, flavours, fragrance, cosmetics, colours, extracts and genes for crop or livestock improvement. Conventional breeding and traditional agricultural, dairy and bee keeping practices are excluded.