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Row reveals order to lift plant protection by G.S. Mudur and Ajay Sukumaran

The Bt brinjal furore has brought to light a little-known government notification that plucked 190 species of plants out of the protective sphere of a law on biodiversity, triggering fears among some environmental groups that these biological resources may now be plundered with ease.

The environment ministry had declared in the notification last year that the provisions of the National Biodiversity Act — India’s only legislation to protect its biodiversity — would not apply to dozens of species of fruits and vegetables, spices, medicinal plants and flowers, plantations and aromatic crops when they were traded as commodities.

Environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh appeared unaware of the gazette notification issued by his own ministry on October 26, 2009, until activists alerted him in Bangalore on Saturday.

“I did not know about this notification — but gazette notifications (sometimes) take years,” Ramesh told The Telegraph over the phone today. He said the notification was intended to facilitate trade and exports in agricultural commodities.

But Ramesh added that the issues raised by environmental groups were “totally bogus”. Yesterday, in Bangalore, A.S. Anand, the chairman of Karnataka’s Organic Farming Mission, had caught Ramesh unawares when he referred to the notification. “Brinjal is also a part of it. Now why are we talking about it?” asked Anand.

Brinjal is one of the 190 species. In the absence of such a notification, the foreign company that developed Bt brinjal without seeking permission from the National Biodiversity Authority would have been violating the biodiversity act, environmental groups allege.

“You have levelled very serious charges,” Ramesh told Anand while making calls on his mobile phone, presumably seeking a clarification from officials of his ministry.

Ramesh then explained that the notification was intended to facilitate farmers exporting the listed resources.

“If this gazette has any bearing (on Bt Brinjal), I will withdraw it,” he added, but not before an exchange during which the minister dared the specialist to prove a conspiracy. “I will tender a public apology if what you say is true. If what I say is true, you should resign from your job,” Ramesh had said.

The National Biodiversity Act of 2002 restricts access to India’s biological resources by foreign individuals or companies and seeks to ensure that the country and its people benefit from the use of such resources. Under existing laws, individuals or companies seeking Indian biological resources need permission from the National Biodiversity Authority.

A senior official said the environmental activists appeared to have raised questions without understanding the notification and without even reading the document.

“The notification applies only in situations where plants are traded as commodities,” P.L. Gautam, the chairman of the National Biodiversity Authority, told The Telegraph. “Permission will be needed for any other use of the plants, including research,” he said.

But activists and organic farmers are questioning the inclusion of rare, endangered plants in the list of 190 species.

“Ravolfia serpentina (Indian snakeroot) or Gloriosa superba (tiger lily) are both protected — there’s no bulk or commodity trade in these species,” said Vivek Cariappa, an organic farmer in Karnataka. “Why do they figure in this list?”

Activists also say the notification appears to have been pushed without consultations with state governments. “I didn’t know about this notification,” said V. Shankar Vijayan, the chairman of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board.

Critics argue that while the notification may be intended to facilitate exports, there is nothing to prevent a foreign company from exploiting such biological resources for research purposes after it leaves India.

Anand, who raised the issue in Bangalore yesterday, said today that it was unclear how the notification was needed for exports. “India has been exporting fruits and vegetables all these years — since 2002 when the act was passed,” he said.

Anand said the documents needed for exports include a phytosanitary certificate, licences from the spice board or horticulture departments, import-export codes. “This notification virtually allows anyone to take any of these 190 species without permission and do whatever they want with them,” Anand said.