CEBPOL

CEBPOL refers to Centre for Biodiversity Policy and Law. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has decided to establish a Centre for Biodiversity Policy and Law (CEBPOL) in the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Chennai, which is a statutory autonomous body of the Ministry responsible for implementing the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

• In this context, in November 2010, the Government of Norway has offered to provide technical and institutional collaboration for the CEBPOL.
• Norway is the first developed country to have recently enacted a national legislation on ABS.
  

The Norwegian partners for cooperation with NBA would be the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management and Fridtj of Nansen Institute.

Objectives of CEBPOL:

1. To develop professional expertise in the complex and still-evolving policy and legal issues relating to biodiversity, including on access and benefit sharing, inter alia through research, development and training
2. To provide advice and expertise to the Government on these matters.

The setting up of this Centre is a very timely initiative taken by the Government, considering that the recently concluded Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan, has adopted a Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing. As a mega-diverse country, and as a victim of bio-piracy, India has played an important role in ABS negotiations.