India’s fourth national report to the Convention on Biological Diversity

This latest report focuses on the threats to biodiversity, status of implementation of the National Biodiversity Action Plan and progress achieved towards meeting the 2010 biodiversity target.

India takes its commitment to preserving biodiversity very seriously. This is not only because of India’s international obligations as a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is also because India believes that protecting biodiversity is a critical national priority as it is linked to local livelihoods of millions of people in the country. Sustainable use of biodiversity therefore has both ecological and economic value. It is with this objective that India set up a National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) in 2003 with an explicit mandate of conservation of biological resources and associated knowledge as well as facilitating access to them in a sustainable manner. This report focuses on the threats to biodiversity, the status of implementation of the National Biodiversity Action Plan and the progress achieved towards meeting the 2010 biodiversity target. It has been prepared in terms of the mandatory requirements under Article 26 of the Convention to which India is a Party.