Intellectual property rights, traditional knowledge and biodiversity of India

India is one of the mega-biodiverse countries with different combinations of ecosystems. The biodiversity of India occurs at three levels, namely, species, genetic and ecosystem and most of the times arc associated with traditional knowledge and practices. The loss of biodiversity and commercialization of bioresources and associated knowledge have been causing great concern especially when the IPRs arc applied to claim monopoly. The negotiations at international and national level for the protection of traditional knowledge and for the conservation of biological resources are now carried out on various issues of implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992. India being a party to the Convention is the first to implement it by enacting the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 with a three tired institutional mechanism established there Under. However, the Act still needs more clarifications on the issues of implementation like benefit sharing. This article analyses and clarifies some of these issues and concerns and thus, suggests further actions for the effective implementation of the Act.