Indian Forest and Plant Protection Laws
India’s forest and plant protection laws create a legal balance between conservation, biodiversity management, wildlife protection, and the rights of farmers and breeders. For Prelims, the most important provisions are the scope of forest diversion, biodiversity access rules, wildlife trade compliance, and seed-related rights under plant variety law.
The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 and Rules
The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023, officially titled the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 2023, came into force on December 1, 2023, and amended the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
- Scope of application: The 2023 amendment limits the Act mainly to lands officially recorded as forests or notified under the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
- Supreme Court position: In the 1996 T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad case, the Court had adopted the broader “dictionary meaning” of forests. The Court later directed that this broad understanding should be maintained pending a final decision on the 2023 amendment.
- Clearance process: The Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Amendment Rules, 2025 updated Stage-I and Stage-II clearance procedures.
- Working permission: The 2025 rules introduced “working permission” for linear projects.
- Offline submissions: The same rules allowed offline submission for strategic and emergency projects.
- Field inspections: The Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Amendment Rules, 2026, notified on March 11, 2026, require simultaneous field inspections by a Conservator of Forests or a higher official for proposals involving more than 40 hectares of forest land.
The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023
The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023, came into force on April 1, 2024, to simplify access to biological resources while preserving the principle of fair and equitable benefit sharing.
- Compliance relief: The amendment eases procedures for practitioners of traditional Indian medicine systems, including AYUSH.
- Penalties: It decriminalizes certain statutory violations and replaces criminal penalties with monetary fines.
- IPR requirement: Applicants must obtain a Certificate of Registration (CoR) from the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) before applying for Intellectual Property Rights on biological resources originating in India.
- Domestic AYUSH use: Domestic AYUSH practitioners are exempted from prior approval and from access and benefit-sharing dues.
- NBA activity: Between April 2025 and March 2026, the NBA received 1,077 IPR applications and issued 885 Certificates of Registration.
Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 and CITES Compliance
The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022, came into effect on April 1, 2023, to align domestic law with international wildlife trade obligations under CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
- Schedules restructured: The legislation consolidated the protection schedules from six to four.
- CITES alignment: The revised schedule structure was introduced to strengthen compliance with international wildlife trade rules.
- Registration of species: Rules under Section 49M, notified on February 28, 2024, require persons possessing living CITES-listed species under Schedule IV to register them on the PARIVESH 2.0 portal.
- Export and import permits: The Central Government may designate a Management Authority to issue permits for trade in listed species.
- Scientific advice: A Scientific Authority may also be designated to advise on the impact of trade on species conservation.
Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001, is designed to protect both commercial breeders and farmers. It is an important law for questions on seed rights, registration, and breeder protection.
- Farmers’ rights: Under Section 39(1)(iv), farmers may save, sow, resow, exchange, share, or sell their farm produce, including seeds of a protected variety.
- Restriction: Farmers cannot sell branded seeds of a protected variety.
- Branded seed: Branded seed means seed put in a package or container and labelled as belonging to a protected variety registered under the Act.
- Revocation of protection: Section 34(h) allows revocation of a breeder’s registration if the breeder fails to comply with the Act or if registration was obtained on the basis of incorrect information.
| Law | Main Prelims Point |
| Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 | Limits application mainly to recorded forests and notified forest lands. |
| Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 | Requires CoR from the NBA before IPR claims on Indian biological resources. |
| Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 | Restructures schedules from six to four and supports CITES compliance. |
| PPV&FR Act, 2001 | Protects farmers’ right to save, exchange, and sell unbranded seeds. |
Key Prelims Takeaways
- Forest law: The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 came into force on December 1, 2023.
- Judicial interpretation: The Supreme Court has continued the broad T.N. Godavarman understanding of forests pending final adjudication.
- Forest clearance: The 2026 rules require simultaneous field inspections for diversion proposals involving more than 40 hectares.
- Biodiversity law: The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 came into force on April 1, 2024.
- NBA and IPR: A Certificate of Registration from the NBA is required before applying for IPR on Indian biological resources.
- Wildlife trade: The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 reduced the schedules from six to four to align with CITES.
- Farmers’ seed rights: Section 39(1)(iv) of the PPV&FR Act protects farmers’ right to save, sow, exchange, share, and sell unbranded seeds of protected varieties.
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