New Delhi: India’s updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) is a vital roadmap to address the strategies to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, with a longer-term vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050.
The document on updated NBSAP was released during a special event called ‘Roadmap for achieving the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) targets and release of India’s updated NBSAP, on October 30, 2024, in Cali, Colombia.
India’s Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh, released the NBSAP at the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
He said that India had adopted the ‘Whole-of-Government’ and ‘Whole-of-Society’ approach in updating its NBSAP. The updated NBSAP mentions setting 23 national biodiversity targets through an extensive consultative process involving diverse stakeholders.
The Minister highlighted that the updated NBSAP acknowledges environmental challenges and outlines strategies to address them through ecosystem restoration, species recovery programmes, and community-driven conservation efforts focusing on the restoration of degraded ecosystems, the protection of wetlands, and the sustainable management of marine and coastal areas.
At the event, it was shared with the distinguished gathering that India’s governance framework for biodiversity conservation, exemplified by the Biological Diversity Act of 2002 and its amendments of 2023.
This framework includes a three-tier institutional structure comprising the National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards, and local Biodiversity Management Committees, ensuring effective implementation at all levels.
The updated document also provides insight into the current status of biodiversity across India and trends therein, existing policy and institutional framework, biodiversity expenditure, and potential biodiversity finance solutions.
Those present at the event included Mauricio Cabrera, Vice-Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Colombia; Ms. Kandya Obezo, Vice-Minister of Multilateral Affairs, Colombia; and Ms. Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary, CBD; Tanmay Kumar, Special Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, and C. Achalender Reddy, Chairman, National Biodiversity Authority.
