National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) Issues SOP to Protect Threatened Species

Key facts

• The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has released a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the notification of threatened species under Section 38 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has notified 159 plant species and 173 animal species as threatened across 17 States and 3 Union Territories.
• The SOP involves collaboration with Biodiversity Management Committees, local communities, the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), universities, research institutions, and subject experts.
• The initiative is supported by the Biological Diversity (Access to Biological Resources and Knowledge Associated thereto and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits) Regulations, 2025.
• The framework advances Target 4 of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2024–2030 and aligns with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.