Shadow of permit-raj over research

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio de Janeiro, on the 5th day of June 1992) reaffirms the sovereign rights of the States over their biological resources and the contracting parties have further agreed to develop national strategies, plans or programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. Being a signatory to the Convention, India has passed the Biological Diversity Act, 20022 to promote conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources. But a close perusal reveals that the Act would seriously hamper biodiversity research in India, especially taxonomic work – both qualitatively and quantitatively.