Marine Biodiversity: The Missing Link In India’s ABS Framework
- IJLLR Journal
- Nov 20
- 2 min read
Revaa P.G, Presidency University, Bengaluru
ABSTRACT
India’s Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is a landmark framework for the purpose of conserving biological resources, regulating access and for one of the most important aspects that is equitable benefit sharing. While it is widely applied to the terrestrial ecosystems, its relevance with respect to marine biodiversity has remained majorly overlooked. For generations together, the fishing and coastal communities in India have lived in close connection with the sea not just for sustenance but for their daily source of income. Their routine work revolves around wide varieties of marine resources that include finfish such as tuna, mackerel, sardines, and pomfret, crustaceans like shrimp and crabs, molluscs including clams, mussels, squid, sea cucumbers and pearl oysters. What once began as a subsistence activity has now gradually transitioned into a day-to-day trade driven practice with all these resources forming the very backbone of the local markets, small scale industries and exports. Over time, these resources have been normalised as a part of livelihood so much so that the larger factors holding economic and ecological values have been majorly overlooked leaving these communities with no equitable benefit sharing while they survive merely on the income they’ve made by selling their catches and daily collection.
This article focuses on three critical issues. Firstly, it delves into the ABS regime for the land-based biodiversity and how it is rarely applied on the fishing communities that harvest them despite all the marine resources that are being exploited. Secondly, it deals with the communities’ limited institutional capacity, lack of awareness about their rights that is locking them out of the decisions related to the very resources that sustain them. Thirdly, it highlights various loopholes in governing the fisher communities’ rights and access to fair benefit sharing despite there being so many frameworks for it.
In conclusion, the article reviews the potential reforms such as government schemes, education, awareness and policies that treat fishers as rightful partners more than beneficiaries.
Keywords: Marine biodiversity, Equitable benefit sharing, Coastal communities, Traditional knowledge
