The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) was established in 2003 by the Central Government to implement India’s Biological Diversity Act (2002). The NBA is a Statutory body and that performs facilitative, regulatory and advisory function for Government of India on issue of Conservation, sustainable use of biological resource and fair equitable sharing of benefits of use.
The Biological diversity Act (2002) mandates implementation of the provisions of the Act through decentralized system with the NBA focusing on advice the Central Government on matters relating to the conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of biological resources; advice the State Government in the selection of areas of biodiversity importance to be notified under Sub-Section (1) of Section 37 as heritage sites and measures for the management of such heritage sites.
The NBA with its Headquarters in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India delivers its mandate through a structure that comprises of the Authority, secretariat, SBBs, BMCs and Expert Committees.