India launches the world's first certification scheme to reward biodiversity benefit-sharing

New voluntary certification scheme aims to turn biodiversity compliance into a competitive business advantage while strengthening community benefits and conservation financing.

India has become the first country in the world to launch a dedicated voluntary certification scheme that rewards businesses for sharing benefits derived from the use of biological resources.

The Voluntary Certification Scheme for Incentivization of Access and Benefit Sharing (VCS-I-ABS), launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in collaboration with the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), the Quality Council of India (QCI) and UNDP India, marks a new milestone in global biodiversity finance.

The initiative makes India the first among the 196 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to operationalize a dedicated voluntary certification mechanism for Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS).

The scheme transforms biodiversity compliance into a market opportunity by allowing certified companies to showcase their commitment to fair and equitable benefit-sharing through an official ABS logo and certification.

Turning biodiversity compliance into a business advantage

Access and Benefit Sharing is a mechanism established under the CBD and the Nagoya Protocol that ensures communities and countries receive fair benefits when businesses use biological resources and associated traditional knowledge.

India is already recognized as a global leader in implementing ABS, accounting for approximately 60 percent of all Internationally Recognized Certificates of Compliance (IRCCs) published in the CBD's ABS Clearing-House.

The country's ABS framework operates through a three-tier institutional structure that includes the National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards and Biodiversity Management Committees working at the local level.

The new certification scheme builds on this strong foundation by creating incentives for businesses that already comply with India's biodiversity regulations.

Participation is voluntary. Businesses that meet ABS requirements under the Biological Diversity Act, Biological Diversity Rules and ABS Regulations can obtain certification and use the official ABS logo, positioning themselves as responsible and sustainable market leaders.

The certification is expected to create multiple benefits. It will help businesses differentiate themselves in domestic and international markets, enable consumers to support companies that contribute to local communities, and encourage more companies to comply with biodiversity regulations.

At the same time, it seeks to bring currently non-compliant bio-resource users back into the ABS system.

A recognizable symbol for responsible business

The newly launched logo combines elements that reflect both biodiversity and India's cultural heritage.

It features a plant graphic representing biological and medicinal values, a lotus leaf symbolizing Indian cultural ethos and enlightenment, and hands that represent care, protection and sustainability.

Its circular shape reflects a holistic, 360-degree approach to fair and equitable benefit-sharing, while the ABS acronym strengthens its visibility and recognition.

The logo has been registered as a trademark with Intellectual Property India and is intended to become a trusted symbol for biodiversity-responsible businesses.

Certification will be delivered through accredited third-party certification bodies under the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB), a constituent board of the Quality Council of India and an International Accreditation Forum signatory.

Delivering India's Biodiversity Finance Plan

The initiative was developed with financial support from the Government of India–UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN).

It directly operationalizes India's Biodiversity Finance Plan, adopted in 2019, which identified Access and Benefit Sharing as one of the country's most promising and scalable biodiversity finance solutions.

By creating incentives for compliance, the scheme helps channel financial benefits to local communities and conservation institutions while mobilizing additional resources for biodiversity protection.

The launch demonstrates how biodiversity finance is not only about raising new funds, but also about designing policies and market mechanisms that create long-term and recurring incentives for conservation.

Supporting global biodiversity goals

The launch comes at a critical moment as countries work to implement the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and scale up biodiversity finance.

The certification scheme directly contributes to India's National Biodiversity Target 13, which focuses on increasing equitable benefit-sharing.

More broadly, it positions India as a global pioneer in using market-based instruments to align business incentives with biodiversity conservation and community development.

As more than 90 countries are currently developing Biodiversity Finance Plans through BIOFIN, India's experience offers a practical example of how policy innovation can transform biodiversity governance into a mechanism that benefits people, nature and the economy simultaneously.

By rewarding responsible businesses and strengthening the link between biodiversity conservation and local livelihoods, India is demonstrating how Access and Benefit Sharing can evolve from a regulatory requirement into a powerful engine for sustainable development.

Read a story, “Access and Benefit Sharing: Turning Biodiversity into Fair and Sustainable Finance in India”