The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is a statutory autonomous body under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India established in 2003 to implement the provisions under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, after India signed the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992.

The NBA performs facilitative, regulatory and advisory functions for the Government of India on issues of conservation, sustainable use of biological resources and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources.

The Biological Diversity Act (2002) mandates implementation of the provisions of the Act through decentralized system with the NBA focusing on advising the Central Government on matters relating to the conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of biological resources; and advising the State Governments in the selection of areas of biodiversity importance to be notified under Sub-Section (1) of Section 37 as heritage sites and measures for the management of such heritage sites.

The State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) focus on advising the State Governments, subject to any guidelines issued by the Central Government, on matters relating to the conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of biological resources;

The NBA with its headquarters in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, since its establishment has supported creation of SBBs in 29 States.

Source: Wikipedia & National Biodiversity Authority.