190 plants face pirates’ threat

Bio-pirates, mostly multinational pharma and seed companies, are abusing 190 plant species including endangered ones, which are in the exempted list of the National Biodiversity Board.


Environment Support Group experts have now asked the government to repeal the list and control the companies’ access to these endangered plants.

Environmental activist Mr Leo F. Saldhana said, “Stating that the 190 species are normally traded commodities, the government exempted them from the list due to which they lost protection under the Biodiversity Act. The companies do not require prior permission for their export. Out of the 190 species, 15 are threatened, vulnerable or critically endangered. It has been proved how exports can drive endangered species to extinction.”

He added that around 900 species of plants were originally listed for exclusion but 190 was finalised due to pressure from the pharmaceutical industry.

“When the Wildlife Act mentions that these plants are protected under the law, how can they be exempted from the Biodiversity Act? Even most forest range officers do not know that they are empowered to file cases of bio-piracy in police stations under the Act,” Mr Saldhana observed.

Meanwhile, the National Biodiversity Board had decided to launch a criminal prosecution against the MNC Monsanto, for accessing varieties of brinjal in the country without permission to produce BT brinjal.

“Monsanto didn’t take any permission from the biodiversity board for accessing the brinjal varieties. It is a criminal offence under section 3, 4 and 5 of the Biodiversity Act. By the time they started the BT brinjal project in 2005 the rules were in force,” said Environmental scientist Ms S. Bhargavi Rao.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/hyderabad/190-plants-face-pirates%E2%80%99-threat-051