In a major leadership change, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) cleared the appointment of Virendra Tiwari, Director of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), as the new Chairperson of the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA). Tiwari, a 1990-batch Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer from the Maharashtra cadre, will succeed Chirra Achalender Reddy (IFoS:1986:AGMUT), whose three-year tenure ends on November 30, 2025.
According to the official order, Tiwari’s appointment will be for a term of three years, or until he attains the age of 65 years, whichever comes earlier. His elevation comes at a critical juncture for the NBA, the statutory body formed in 2003 under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, tasked with overseeing biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilization of resources.
C.A. Reddy has been at the helm of the authority since December 1, 2022, steering its mandate of biodiversity management and policy advisory to the Central and State Governments. With Tiwari stepping in, the NBA is expected to strengthen its role in addressing the growing challenges of balancing conservation with economic growth in one of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots.
The National Biodiversity Authority plays a central role in regulating access to India’s biological resources, ensuring fair and equitable benefit-sharing, and advising governments on conservation strategies. It is also responsible for identifying and declaring biodiversity heritage sites of ecological importance.
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