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India has called for biodiversity policy to be grounded in scientific evidence while remaining responsive to national laws, development priorities and local conditions.

Presenting the country’s position during the high-level segment of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Yerevan, Armenia, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav said international conservation goals must be backed by reliable funding, stronger technical capacity and equitable access to technology.

Implementing global biodiversity commitments

India’s updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan converts the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework into 23 domestic targets measured through 142 indicators. The framework is intended to guide action on habitat protection, restoration, sustainable resource use and the sharing of benefits derived from biological resources.

Yadav stressed that developing countries require adequate and predictable financial support to implement these commitments. He also backed fair benefit-sharing from digital sequence information associated with genetic resources, including through a multilateral funding mechanism.

On emerging technologies such as synthetic biology, India advocated a precautionary approach in which regulatory safeguards reflect the level of potential risk. Scientific assessment and biosafety considerations, the minister said, should remain central to decision-making.

Expanding protection for ecosystems

India reported a conservation network comprising 1,134 protected areas, 103 wetlands designated as Ramsar sites, 57 Biodiversity Heritage Sites and 18 biosphere reserves. Thirteen of those reserves are included in UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Network.

The country is also participating in international efforts to conserve seven major big-cat species and their habitats through the International Big Cat Alliance. Such cooperation is particularly important as habitat fragmentation, illegal wildlife trade and climate pressures increasingly cross national borders.

Domestic programmes are targeting ecosystems that provide critical climate and livelihood benefits. The MISHTI initiative focuses on restoring mangroves, which shelter coastal communities from storms, store carbon and support fisheries. Amrit Dharohar promotes wetland conservation, while the Soil Health Card programme encourages the sustainable management of agricultural land and soil fertility.

Local participation and shared benefits

India highlighted the role of village-level institutions in biodiversity governance. Local committees are intended to support decentralised management and ensure that communities receive benefits when biological resources and associated traditional knowledge are used sustainably.

Public campaigns encouraging resource-conscious lifestyles and tree planting were also presented as ways to broaden environmental responsibility beyond government agencies. The underlying objective is to make biodiversity conservation part of everyday social and economic choices.

India reaffirmed its support for multilateral cooperation and said it would continue working with other countries to advance global biodiversity goals. Its position places science, community participation and international equity at the centre of efforts to halt ecological decline and restore damaged natural systems.