The Puducherry Biodiversity Council (PYBC), a statutory body functioning under the Directorate of Forests and Wildlife, has proposed to set up village-level biodiversity management committees (BMC) across the Union Territory.The council’s mandate covers three core objectives: conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge.According to an official, under Section 41(1) of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, every local body is required to constitute a BMC to promote conservation, sustainable use, and documentation of biodiversity, including maintaining People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs).The Biological Diversity Act 2002 and Rules 2004 provide for regulated access to bio-resources for commercial utilisation and fair and equitable sharing of benefits. Local communities have nurtured genetic diversity over the years, and the Biological Diversity Act provides the legislative framework from the use of their genetic resources and traditional knowledge.According to an official, “Of the 123 BMCs mandated across the four regions – Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe, and Yanam – only 19 have so far been constituted at the municipality, block, and village panchayat levels, leaving 104 pending at the village panchayat level.”He added, to close this gap, PYBC has planned to engage an educational institution, research institution, registered society or public trust to coordinate with the urban local bodies, commune and village pancahyats, conduct orientation and capacity-building programmes for officials and BMC members, provide technical support, and assist in preparing and validating PBRs. Published - July 27, 2026 05:13 pm IST