Collective action needed to conserve and protect big cats: Bhupender Yadav

New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday emphasised the importance of collective action to advance the conservation and protection of the seven major big cat species and their natural habitats and assisting in securing the ecological future and mitigating the adverse effects of climate change.

In his address at the first Assembly of the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for conservation of big cats in range countries, held here, Yadav highlighted that India has emerged as a global leader in wildlife conservation, demonstrating notable successes over the past decade, and called upon the Big Cat range countries to actively engage and collaborate in the initiatives and programmes of the grouping.

The Assembly, which is the apex body of the IBCA, was attended by ministerial delegations from 9 countries - Bhutan, Cambodia, Eswatini, Guinea, India, Liberia, Suriname, Somalia and Kazakhstan.

It unanimously endorsed Yadav as the President of the IBCA, while it also endorsed S.P. Yadav as the Director General of IBCA.

Created by the Indian government, the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) is a coalition of 95 range countries with a mandate for the conservation of seven big cats, namely tigers, lions, leopards, snow leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, and pumas.

"The Assembly endorsed the proceedings of the first International Steering Committee meeting of IBCA, which was held in April 2024, ratified the Headquarters Agreement signed by IBCA with the Republic of India, approved the Workplan, Rules of Procedure of the Assembly and the manual of Staff and financial regulations of the IBCA. These will serve as the guiding foundation for the effective governance, operations, and collaborative initiatives of the International Big Cat Alliance," the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said in a statement.

The IBCA was established by the Indian government, through the nodal organisation, the National Tiger Conservation Authority, through an order on March 12, 2024.

Its primary objective is to facilitate collaboration and synergy amongst range countries and other stakeholders, consolidating successful conservation practices and expertise to achieve a common goal of conservation of big cats at a global level.