Section 38 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

Current Affair 1:

Section 38 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

News:

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has released a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to streamline how States and Union Territories identify, assess, and notify threatened species under Section 38 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

Section 38 of Biological Diversity Act, 2002:

Empowers the Central Government to notify threatened species. Notification is done in consultation with the concerned State Government.

Covers species:

1. on the verge of extinction, or
2. likely to become extinct in the near future.

Government may:

1. regulate or prohibit collection of such species,
2. undertake rehabilitation and conservation measures.
3. Central Government can delegate these powers to State Governments.

The new SOP establishes a uniform, step-by-step framework enabling State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and UT Biodiversity Councils to drive the scientific assessment locally, allowing the Central Government to delegate these operational tracking powers directly to the states.

Link with 2025 Regulations:

The SOP gains significance because of the:

1. Biological Diversity (Access to Biological Resources and Knowledge Associated thereto and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits) Regulations, 2025
2. These regulations provide differential benefit-sharing obligations for biological resources belonging to species notified under Section 38.

Target 4 Alignment:

The guidelines anchor India's domestic actions directly to Target 4 of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 2024–2030, which focuses on halting human-induced extinctions, promoting active species recovery plans, and maintaining genetic diversity.

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