Today's Headlines - 28 July 2023
The Biodiversity Act approved for amendment
GS Paper - 3 (Environment)
Lok Sabha gave its approval to a Bill to amend some provisions of the Biological Diversity Act of 2002. The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill seeks to address concerns of several central ministries, state governments, researchers, industry, and other stakeholders, regarding the implementation of the 20-year-old law that is meant to preserve the country’s biological diversity and to ensure its sustainable use.
What is the biodiversity law, and why does India need one?
Biological diversity refers to all kinds of life forms — animals, plants and microorganisms — their gene pools, and the ecosystems that they inhabit.
The 2002 Act was a response to the global need to protect and conserve biological resources, which are under threat due to human activities.
The extent of the damage was highlighted, much later, in a landmark 2019 report by the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), a scientific body similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
That report issued a stark warning: about 1 million animal and plant species, out of a total of about 8 million, were facing the threat of extinction.
About 75 per cent of the Earth’s land surface and 66 per cent of the oceans had been “significantly altered”, it said.
But efforts to protect biological diversity had begun much earlier. In 1994, countries including India had agreed to a Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), an international framework agreement similar to the more famous one on climate change.
There was a general agreement on three things: (i) that indiscriminate use of biological resources needed to be halted, (ii) that sustainable use of these resources, for their medicinal properties for example, needed to be regulated, and (iii) that people and communities helping in protecting and maintaining these resources needed to be rewarded for their efforts.
India’s Biological Diversity Act of 2002 was enacted by the government of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee with these objectives in mind.
It set up a National Biodiversity Authority as a regulatory body, and prescribed the conditions in, and purposes for, which biological resources could be utilised. The purposes are mainly related to scientific research and commercial use.
What amendments have been proposed in the biodiversity law?
The Bill passed makes several amendments to the 2002 Act, addressing most of the concerns raised by the practitioners of traditional systems of medicine, the seed sector, and the pharmaceutical industry.
Certain categories of users of biological resources, like practitioners of Indian systems of medicine, have been exempted from making payments towards the access and benefit-sharing mechanism.
Companies registered in India and controlled by Indians are now treated as Indian companies, even if they have foreign equity or partnership, thereby reducing the restrictions on them.
Provisions have been included to speed up the approval process in cases of use of biological resources in scientific research, or for filing of patent applications. The penalty provisions for wrongdoing by user agencies have been rationalised.
#upsc #news #todayheadline #biodiversity #amendment #enviroment #bill #microorganisms #ecosystem #intergovernmental #IPBES #IPCC #extinction #CBD #national #authority #traditional #medicine #rationalised
The Biodiversity Act approved for amendment
GS Paper - 3 (Environment)
Lok Sabha gave its approval to a Bill to amend some provisions of the Biological Diversity Act of 2002. The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill seeks to address concerns of several central ministries, state governments, researchers, industry, and other stakeholders, regarding the implementation of the 20-year-old law that is meant to preserve the country’s biological diversity and to ensure its sustainable use.
What is the biodiversity law, and why does India need one?
Biological diversity refers to all kinds of life forms — animals, plants and microorganisms — their gene pools, and the ecosystems that they inhabit.
The 2002 Act was a response to the global need to protect and conserve biological resources, which are under threat due to human activities.
The extent of the damage was highlighted, much later, in a landmark 2019 report by the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), a scientific body similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
That report issued a stark warning: about 1 million animal and plant species, out of a total of about 8 million, were facing the threat of extinction.
About 75 per cent of the Earth’s land surface and 66 per cent of the oceans had been “significantly altered”, it said.
But efforts to protect biological diversity had begun much earlier. In 1994, countries including India had agreed to a Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), an international framework agreement similar to the more famous one on climate change.
There was a general agreement on three things: (i) that indiscriminate use of biological resources needed to be halted, (ii) that sustainable use of these resources, for their medicinal properties for example, needed to be regulated, and (iii) that people and communities helping in protecting and maintaining these resources needed to be rewarded for their efforts.
India’s Biological Diversity Act of 2002 was enacted by the government of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee with these objectives in mind.
It set up a National Biodiversity Authority as a regulatory body, and prescribed the conditions in, and purposes for, which biological resources could be utilised. The purposes are mainly related to scientific research and commercial use.
What amendments have been proposed in the biodiversity law?
The Bill passed makes several amendments to the 2002 Act, addressing most of the concerns raised by the practitioners of traditional systems of medicine, the seed sector, and the pharmaceutical industry.
Certain categories of users of biological resources, like practitioners of Indian systems of medicine, have been exempted from making payments towards the access and benefit-sharing mechanism.
Companies registered in India and controlled by Indians are now treated as Indian companies, even if they have foreign equity or partnership, thereby reducing the restrictions on them.
Provisions have been included to speed up the approval process in cases of use of biological resources in scientific research, or for filing of patent applications. The penalty provisions for wrongdoing by user agencies have been rationalised.
#upsc #news #todayheadline #biodiversity #amendment #enviroment #bill #microorganisms #ecosystem #intergovernmental #IPBES #IPCC #extinction #CBD #national #authority #traditional #medicine #rationalised
Today's Headlines - 19 August 2023
WHO holds first traditional medicine summit
GS Paper - 3 (Health and Diseases)
The World Health Organization opened its first summit on traditional medicine with the group saying it was seeking to collect evidence and data to allow for the safe use of such treatments. Traditional medicines are a "first port of call for millions of people worldwide", the UN health agency said.
More about the summit
The two-day WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit takes place alongside a meeting of G20 health ministers in the Indian city of Gandhinagar.
The first global traditional summit, co-hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Ayush.
This summit is designed to foster political commitment and evidence-based action in the field of traditional medicine.
As a vital healthcare source for millions worldwide, traditional medicine will be closely examined and evaluated as a formidable force in addressing health and well-being needs.
With a wide array of engagement groups, working groups, and meetings, this event aims to represent the interests of the Global South countries within the G20 framework.
The theme of "One Earth, One Family, One Future" embodies India's philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
More about traditional medicine
The UN health agency defines traditional medicine as the knowledge, skills and practices used over time to maintain health and prevent, diagnose and treat physical and mental illness.
But many traditional treatments have no proven scientific value and conservationists say the industry drives a rampant trade in endangered animals -- including tigers, rhinos and pangolins -- threatening the existence of entire species.
Use of homemade remedies soared during the Covid-19 pandemic, including a green herbal drink based on Artemisia that was promoted by Madagascar's president as a cure.
The plant has a proven efficacy in malaria treatment, but its use to combat Covid was widely scorned by many doctors.
In China, traditional medicine has a distinguished history, but top European medical bodies have previously demanded it be subject to the same regulatory oversight as conventional medical methods.
Flashback
Of the WHO's 194 member states, 170 acknowledged their use of traditional and complementary medicine since 2018, but only 124 reported having laws or regulations for the use of herbal medicines -- while only half had a national policy on such methods and medicines.
About 40 percent of approved pharmaceutical products currently in use derive from a "natural product basis", according to the WHO, which cited "landmark drugs" that derive from traditional medicine, including aspirin, drawing on formulations using willow tree bark.
#upsc #news #headline #WHO #traditional #medicine #health #diseases #data #millions #worldwide #ministry #gandhinagar #global #vasudhaiva #kutumbakam #earth #framework #force #future #philosophy #agency #mental #illness #artemisia #species #pandemic #remedies #herbal #madagascar #european #regulatory #complementary #reported #pharmaceutical #products #natural
WHO holds first traditional medicine summit
GS Paper - 3 (Health and Diseases)
The World Health Organization opened its first summit on traditional medicine with the group saying it was seeking to collect evidence and data to allow for the safe use of such treatments. Traditional medicines are a "first port of call for millions of people worldwide", the UN health agency said.
More about the summit
The two-day WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit takes place alongside a meeting of G20 health ministers in the Indian city of Gandhinagar.
The first global traditional summit, co-hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Ayush.
This summit is designed to foster political commitment and evidence-based action in the field of traditional medicine.
As a vital healthcare source for millions worldwide, traditional medicine will be closely examined and evaluated as a formidable force in addressing health and well-being needs.
With a wide array of engagement groups, working groups, and meetings, this event aims to represent the interests of the Global South countries within the G20 framework.
The theme of "One Earth, One Family, One Future" embodies India's philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
More about traditional medicine
The UN health agency defines traditional medicine as the knowledge, skills and practices used over time to maintain health and prevent, diagnose and treat physical and mental illness.
But many traditional treatments have no proven scientific value and conservationists say the industry drives a rampant trade in endangered animals -- including tigers, rhinos and pangolins -- threatening the existence of entire species.
Use of homemade remedies soared during the Covid-19 pandemic, including a green herbal drink based on Artemisia that was promoted by Madagascar's president as a cure.
The plant has a proven efficacy in malaria treatment, but its use to combat Covid was widely scorned by many doctors.
In China, traditional medicine has a distinguished history, but top European medical bodies have previously demanded it be subject to the same regulatory oversight as conventional medical methods.
Flashback
Of the WHO's 194 member states, 170 acknowledged their use of traditional and complementary medicine since 2018, but only 124 reported having laws or regulations for the use of herbal medicines -- while only half had a national policy on such methods and medicines.
About 40 percent of approved pharmaceutical products currently in use derive from a "natural product basis", according to the WHO, which cited "landmark drugs" that derive from traditional medicine, including aspirin, drawing on formulations using willow tree bark.
#upsc #news #headline #WHO #traditional #medicine #health #diseases #data #millions #worldwide #ministry #gandhinagar #global #vasudhaiva #kutumbakam #earth #framework #force #future #philosophy #agency #mental #illness #artemisia #species #pandemic #remedies #herbal #madagascar #european #regulatory #complementary #reported #pharmaceutical #products #natural