India to launch a global alliance for big cats and invest $100 million

The proposed International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) will work for the protection and conservation of the seven main big cats: tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar and cheetah. Alliance membership will be open to 97 “range” countries, which contain the natural habitat of these big cats, as well as other interested nations, international organizations, etc.

Last month, the government approached potential IBCA member countries with its proposal, it is reported. Under a proposed timetable, the alliance is expected to launch next month at a “proper office complex” in India.
According to Environment Ministry sources, the alliance was “inspired by the arrival of cheetahs” last year from Namibia.

“Since we have cheetahs, we are the only country in the world that has tigers, lions, leopards, snow leopards and cheetahs in the wild. We have all the big cats, except the pumas and jaguars, today. Therefore, it is appropriate for India to take the lead in bringing all the big cat range countries together under a UN-like umbrella,” an official said.

The Director General (Forests) at the Ministry of the Environment and Member Secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) did not respond to requests for comment from the indian express.

The records show that the purpose of the alliance is to provide a platform for the “dissemination of information on comparative practices, capacity building, repository of resources, research and development, awareness raising”, etc., on the protection and conservation of natural resources. big felines.

Its main activities will include “advocacy, association, electronic knowledge portal, capacity building, ecotourism, think tank partnerships and fundraising”.

IBCA’s governance structure will comprise a General Assembly made up of all member countries, a council of at least seven but no more than 15 member countries elected by the General Assembly for a 5-year term, and a Secretariat. On the recommendation of the Council, the General Assembly will appoint the Secretary General of IBCA for a specific period.

After the first five years, which will be supported by India’s “full grant assistance” of $100 million, the IBCA is expected to sustain itself through membership fees and contributions from bilateral and multilateral institutions and from the private sector. However, the proposed move has also drawn criticism.

“Without the political will to do what we know needs to be done, building another platform will not help conservation. The funding commitment (to IBCA) is more than India can apparently afford to spend on 22 species on the verge of extinction,” said a conservationist familiar with the proposal.
A big cat biologist, who has previously collaborated with the government, noted that “several key landscape and species recovery programs are languishing due to inadequate funding.”

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a government official said: “Funding is not unjustified as IBCA will provide the vision needed to overcome such constraints. This is a conservation alliance that is unprecedented in scale, purpose and activities.”