For every ayurvedic medicine bought, a small portion of the receipt will go back to the village where the medicinal plant had been grown.
In all, Rs. 10 crore is expected to be ploughed back to villages annually.
This is the promise behind the implementation of the benefit sharing model by Karnataka Biodiversity Board for the bio-resources being tapped into by pharmaceutical companies.
The move follows the guidelines on Access to Biological Resources and Associated Knowledge and Benefits Sharing Regulations, 2014, issued by the board on November 21. Since then, the board has had a series of discussions with companies and traders of medicinal plants.
According to the guidelines, between 0.5 per cent and 5 per cent — depending on the quantity and rarity of the product — has to be paid annually by companies to villages from where these plants are being sourced.
For an industry that sees turnover of an estimated Rs. 2,000 crore, the aim was to funnel nearly Rs. 10 crore to biodiversity management committees (BMCs) that have been set up at the gram panchayat level, said R.M.N. Sahai, Chairperson of the board. Nearly 5,000 BMCs have been set up across the State.
The board expects benefits to reach at least 2,000 BMCs along the Western Ghats and fringes of the forests in southern Karnataka.
The road to implementation, however, is long and arduous. Of the nearly 250 pharmaceutical companies in the State, only 150 have responded with the products used. And none can explain where the product was sourced from.
“Currently, the market is populated with middlemen. Ultimately, pharmaceutical companies buy medicinal plants from city markets. The market chain is yet to be determined,” said Mr. Sahai.
J.S.D. Pani, president of the Karnataka India Medicine Manufacturers Association, welcomed the move and said regulation would aid the industry.
As per KBB guidelines, between 0.5 p.c. and 5 p.c. of the has receipt has to be paid annually by companies to villages from where these plants are being sourced
