The document discusses India's national biodiversity protection initiatives and management of intellectual property rights. It outlines India's National Biodiversity Action Plan, National Wildlife Action Plan, and National Wetlands Conservation Programme. These plans were established to protect biodiversity from various threats like habitat destruction and overexploitation of resources. The document also discusses different types of intellectual property rights like patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Proper management of intellectual property rights is important to incentivize innovation and ensure technological progress while balancing biodiversity conservation.
2. Biodiversity:
‘biological diversity’ can simply be defined as the diversity of
life i.e. diversity among the living organism.
1. Genetic diversity
2. species diversity
3. ecosystem diversity
Value of biodiversity: biodiversity provides immense valuable
products either tangible and intangible forms including-
1. Direct use includes things like food, fibers, medicines and
biological control.
2. Indirect uses includes ecosystem services such as
atmospheric regulation, nutrient cycling and pollination
etc.
(Gaston & Spicer 2004).
3. Threats to biodiversity:
The main threats to biodiversity include:
1. Habitat destruction
2. Forest fragmentation
3. Degradation and loss
4. Over-exploitation of resources;
5. Shrinking genetic diversity
6. Invasive alien species
7. Declining forest resource base
8. Climate change and desertification
9. Impact of development projects
10. Impact of pollution.
4. Biodiversity protection initiatives in India:
India has developed a stable organizational structure and a strong
legal and policy framework for protection of environment in the
country.
1. NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY ACTION PLAN:
• This was approved by the union cabinet on 6th November,
2008.
• The process of preparing the NBAP for India was carried out by
the Ministry of Environment and Forests involving wide
consultations and planning with various stakeholders across
the country, including an externally aided project on 'National
Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan' (NBSAP).
• It proposes to design actions based on the assessment of
current and future needs of conservation and sustainable
utilization, on short and long term basis.
5. Objectives:
• Strengthening and integration of in situ, on-farm and ex-situ conservation
• Augmentation of natural resource base and its sustainable utilization
• Regulation of introduction of invasive alien species and their
management
• Integration of biodiversity concerns in economic and social development
• Pollution impacts
• Development and integration of biodiversity databases
2. NATIONAL WILDLIFE ACTION PLAN:
• First National Wildlife Action Plan (NWAP) was adopted in 1983, based upon
the decision taken in the XV meeting of the Indian Board for Wildlife held in
1982.
Policy Imperatives:
• Ecological Security
• Priority to Conservation
• In situ Conservation
• Peoples’ Support for Wildlife
• Man-Animal Conflict
• National Land Use Policy
6. 3. NATIONAL WETLANDS CONSERVATION PROGRAMME:
The Government of India has been implementing the
National Wetlands Conservation Programme (NWCP) since the
year 1985-86.
Under the programme, 115 wetlands (Annexure I) have been
identified till now by the Ministry which require urgent
conservation and management interventions.
According to the Directory of Asian Wetlands (1989), India has
totally 27,403 wetlands, of which 23,444 are inland wetlands
and 3,959 are coastal wetlands.
Wetlands occupy 18.4% of the country’s area.
The coastal wetlands occupy an estimated 6,750 sq km, and
are largely dominated by mangrove vegetation.
Aim of the Programme:
Conservation of wetlands in the country so as to prevent their further
degradation and ensuring their wise use for the benefit of local
communities and overall conservation of biodiversity.
7. IPR (Intellectual Property Right):
Intellectual Property (IP) is a property of the mind, which
can be created by anyone.
It is distinguishable from other forms of property by being
intangible.
The various types of IPRs and a short description of each
are given below-
• Patents
• Copyrights
• Trademarks
• Registered ( industrial) design
• Protection of IC layout design,
• Geographical indications, and
• Protection of undisclosed information
8. Patent:- It is an official documents which grants sole rights to
inventor for manufacturing an marketing his product/ process/
invention to derive benefit.
Copyrights:- Exclusive rights to protects expression of an
idea, not the idea itself. Protection is provided to authors of
original works of authorship including literary, artistic and
scientific works.
Trademarks :- A Trademarks can be a word, name, symbol,
device or mark which is used to identify and distinguish the
goods or services of one company from goods or services
from another company.
Geographical indications : A geographical indications is a
sign used on goods that have a specific geographical origin an
often possess qualities that are due to that place of origin.
9. Advantages of Intellectual Property RightsAdvantages of Intellectual Property Rights
Advantages of Intellectual Property Rights:
• Help in providing exclusive rights to creator or inventor,
thereby induces them to distribute and share information and
data instead of keeping it confidential.
• Provides legal protection and offers them incentive of their
work.
• Rights granted under the intellectual property act helps in
socio and economic development.
Need for protection of IPR:
• Ideas and innovations are required to be protected in order
to avoid exploitation.
• Protection of IPR is vitally important for pharmaceuticals,
biotechnology and other such industries that require risky
investments in innovation and discovery.
10. MANAGEMENT OF IPR :
IPR Management involves the following activities :
Renewal of patents and designs periodically in
every country where they have been granted.
Monitoring infringement of the IPR and enforcing
ones rights where necessary.
Transfer of the IPR appropriate and at optimum
value to obtain attractive returns for the expense
involved in generating the intellectual property.
Establishment of collaborative linkage to facilitate
exploitation of the IPR.
11. Importance of IP Management:
• Protection of public sector research.
• It ensures availability of the genuine and original
products.
• Faster technological progress will take place.
• Greater professional recognition.
• Commercialization of IPR enables technologies
through public privatepartnership (PPP).
12. Conclusion:
There are very immense value of biological diversity such as
direct and indirect value, which supports the human being
and maintaining the ecological balance. For reducing the
loss of biodiversity, there should be need for applying a
good strategies for conservation and protection with
implementation of existing policies and plan.
The current Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regime
is encouraging commercialization of seed development,
monoculture, and protection of new plant varieties,
microorganisms, and genetically modified organisms. As a
consequence, our rich biogenetic diversity is being eroded
irreversibly. We must find out a path to make an alternative
approach that will bring a balance in between formal
Intellectual Property (IP) system and sustainable aspects of
biodiversity.