India has a long-standing experience on tiger agenda and exemplary conservation models for other big cats like lion, snow leopard and leopard. Recent translocation and successful implementation of Project Cheetah in India further demonstrates the country’s leading role in big cat conservation. Acknowledging this, in the mega International event held at Mysuru, Karnataka on April 09, 2023 to commemorate 50 years of India’s Project Tiger; the Honourable Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi launched the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) for global conservation of seven big cats namely Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar and Puma. Earlier, during Global Tiger Day Celebration in July, 2019; the Honourable Prime Minister had called for an Alliance of Global Leaders to erase demand and firmly curb poaching and illegal Wildlife trade. In pursuance of the decision of the Republic of India, the Cabinet approved the establishment of IBCA with its Secretariat headquarter in India on March 12, 2024.
IBCA is a multi-country, multi-agency coalition comprising of 95 big cat range countries, non-range countries with an interest in big cat conservation, conservation partners, scientific organizations engaged in big cat research, as well as business groups and corporates committed to supporting big cat conservation efforts. The primary objective of IBCA is to facilitate collaboration and synergy among stakeholders, consolidating successful conservation practices and expertise into a centralized repository. This unified approach, bolstered by financial support, aims to bolster the conservation agenda, halt the decline in big cat populations, and reverse current trends. IBCA seeks to lead by example, bringing together range countries and other stakeholders onto a common platform to champion the cause of big cat conservation on a global scale.
There is a gap at present in the availability of resources, optimum utilization of available practices and processes which are based on robust science and converged with field craft in many big cat range countries. This gap arises primarily from the need to strengthen systematic and institutionalized delivery of capacity building and implementation measures and a shortage of suitable financing arrangements to apply fundamental tenets of big cat conservation on ground besides execution of innovative and novel technologies.
No international body is, at present, exclusively addressing the conservation challenges of big cats across their range. The pioneering and long standing big cat conservation good practices evolved in many range countries may be replicated elsewhere. Establishing an agency with advanced technological and financial capabilities is, thus, vital to support big cat populations in resource-lacking countries.
Management challenges and ecological requirements for big cats are unique and novel from other species. This necessitates a specialised targeted conservation efforts for securing the future of big cats globally. Although, currently a number of inter-governmental agencies, United Nations Agencies across the globe are working on a wide array of biodiversity conservation, sustainable resource management and livelihood securities; there is a dearth of an appropriate agency/platform, exclusively dedicated towards conservation of big cats.
Establishment of IBCA is, therefore, crucial since it aims to unite big cat range countries, non-range countries interested in conservation, conservation partners, scientific organizations, and business groups willing to support big cat conservation. Overall, IBCA has been envisaged to play a central role in global big cat conservation efforts, providing leadership, expertise, and coordination to address pressing environmental challenges and promote the sustainable management of natural resources in big cat range countries. Its framework encompasses scientific research, policy advocacy, capacity building, and collaborative partnerships to achieve big cat conservation goals at local, national, and global scales.
The potential of this partnership shall enable disseminating bench marked practices from big cat range countries which have successfully implemented wildlife conservation initiatives, result in target oriented capacity building initiatives which shall lead to tangible outputs and outcomes and at the same time make available a common pool of resources which can be harnessed by any big cat range country based on felt requirements and needs. The partnership also aims to strengthen the existing species-specific inter-governmental platforms, networks and transnational initiatives on conservation and protection. A partnership is envisaged, to consist of countries, majority of whom face similar challenges resulting in depressed big cat numbers besides poor status of prey and degraded habitats, which would be based on the long standing tiger and other big cat good practices evolved in India, primarily and elsewhere in the range countries. Big Cat Range Countries can share their experiences and mobilize resources in order to close prevalent gaps by cooperating with each other, solutions will be found and will also be scaled up leading to lower implementation costs.
The IBCA's multi-pronged approach will enhance linkages, promote knowledge sharing, capacity building, networking, advocacy, finance, research, technical support, insurance against failures, education, awareness, employment, and sustainable local livelihoods. Establishment of IBCA will, thus, neither duplicate nor undermine the efforts what other cross-national bodies are already doing, but will establish and develop synergies and strengthen further collaboration with them and bridge the gaps in the arena of big cat conservation.