Sections 8 to 17: The National Biodiversity Authority

In one line

The National Biodiversity Authority is a body corporate at Chennai with a chairperson, official and non-official members, and one job that matters: deciding who may take an Indian biological resource and what they must pay.

In exam wording: section 8 of the Biological Diversity Act 2002 establishes the National Biodiversity Authority as a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, with its head office at Chennai and such regional offices as the Central Government may establish by notification, consisting of a Chairperson, sixteen ex officio members representing the Ministries dealing with the twelve matters listed in section 8(4)(b), four representatives from State Biodiversity Boards on a rotational basis, five non-official members, and a Member-Secretary; and sections 9 to 17 govern conditions of service, the Chairperson as chief executive, the Member Secretary, removal, meetings, committees, officers and employees, authentication, delegation, and the defraying of expenses out of the Consolidated Fund of India.

Section 8: establishment and composition

Body corporate. With perpetual succession and a common seal, power to acquire, hold and dispose of property and to contract, and capacity to sue and be sued.

Head office and regional offices. Section 8(3) places the head office at Chennai, and provides that "the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, establish regional offices in other places in India". Before the 2023 amendment it was the Authority itself, with the previous approval of the Central Government, that could open offices elsewhere.

Composition, as substituted in 2023. Section 8(4) provides for:

• a Chairperson, an eminent person having adequate knowledge, expertise and experience in the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and in matters relating to fair and equitable sharing of benefits, appointed by the Central Government;
• sixteen ex officio members appointed by the Central Government, representing the Ministries dealing with agricultural research and education; agriculture and farmers welfare; Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, Yoga and Naturopathy and Homoeopathy; biotechnology; environment and climate change; forests and wildlife; the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education; earth sciences; panchayati raj; science and technology; scientific and industrial research; and tribal affairs;
• four representatives from State Biodiversity Boards on a rotational basis, under a clause of their own, clause (c);
• five non-official members appointed from among experts, including legal experts, and scientists having special knowledge of or experience in conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of biological resources and fair and equitable sharing of benefits, and representatives of industry, conservers, creators and knowledge-holders of biological resources;
• a Member-Secretary having experience in matters relating to biodiversity conservation, appointed by the Central Government.

Two features are worth noticing. Four members come from the State Biodiversity Boards by rotation, so the second tier of the Act is represented on the first. And the ministry for the Indian systems of medicine sits on the Authority, which matters because Module III is about medicinal plants.