Sections 22 to 25: The State Biodiversity Board

In one line

Every State has a Board, no Union territory does, and the Board's job is to deal with Indians while the Authority deals with foreigners.

In exam wording: section 22 of the Biological Diversity Act 2002 requires each State Government to establish a State Biodiversity Board as a body corporate, consisting of a Chairperson, not more than seven ex officio members representing the concerned departments including panchayati raj and tribal affairs, and not more than five non-official members appointed from among experts including legal experts and scientists; section 22(2) provides that no Board shall be constituted for a Union territory, where the National Biodiversity Authority exercises the Board's powers; section 23 sets out the Board's functions; section 24 gives it the power to restrict or reject an activity detrimental or contrary to the objectives of conservation, sustainable use or fair and equitable sharing; and section 25 applies sections 9 to 17 with modifications.

Section 22: establishment and composition

A body corporate, with perpetual succession and a common seal, power to hold property, to contract and to sue and be sued.

Composition, as substituted in 2023. 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 State Government; not more than seven ex officio members appointed by the State Government to represent the concerned departments, including the departments dealing with panchayati raj and tribal affairs; and not more than five non-official members appointed from among experts, including legal experts, and scientists having special knowledge, expertise and work experience in conservation, sustainable use and benefit sharing.

Head office at such place as the State Government specifies by notification.

Union territories. Section 22(2) provides that no Board shall be constituted for a Union territory, and that the National Biodiversity Authority exercises the powers and performs the functions of a State Board for it, with a proviso permitting the Authority to delegate all or any of those powers to such person, group of persons or body as the Central Government may specify.

Section 23: functions

(a) Advise the State Government on conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilisation of biological resources or traditional knowledge associated with them, in conformity with the regulations or guidelines issued by the Central Government or the National Biodiversity Authority. That limitation was added in 2023 and matters: a State Board may not advise contrary to Central regulation.

(b) Regulate any activity referred to in section 7 by granting or rejecting approvals. This clause too was substituted in 2023. Before the amendment it read "regulate by granting of approvals or otherwise requests for commercial utilisation or bio-survey and bio-utilisation of any biological resource by Indians", and that wording is what the Uttarakhand High Court construed in Divya Pharmacy v. Union of India. The current clause is sharper: the Board grants or rejects approvals for a section 7 activity.