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

Last month, the Government reached out to potential IBCA member nations with its proposal, it is learnt. According to a proposed timeline, the alliance is expected to be launched next month in a “suitable office complex” in India.

According to sources in the Environment Ministry, the alliance was “inspired by the arrival of cheetahs” last year from Namibia.

“Since we got the cheetahs, we are the only country in the world to have tigers, lions, leopards, snow leopards and cheetahs in the wild. We have all the big cats, except the pumas and jaguars, today. So it is only befitting that India takes the lead to bring together all big cat range countries under an UN-like umbrella,” said an official.

The Director General (Forest) in the Environment Ministry and Member Secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) did not respond to requests for comment from The Indian Express.

Records show that the alliance’s purpose is to provide a platform for “dissemination of information on benchmarked practices, capacity building, resources repository, research and development, awareness creation”, etc., on the protection and conservation of big cats.

Its major activities will include “advocacy, partnership, knowledge e-portal, capacity building, eco-tourism, partnerships between expert groups and finance tapping”.

The IBCA’s governance structure will comprise a General Assembly consisting of all member countries, a council of at least seven but not more than 15 member countries elected by the General Assembly for a term of 5 years, and a Secretariat. Upon the recommendation of the Council, the General Assembly will appoint the IBCA Secretary General for a specific term.

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

“Without the political will to do what we know should be done, building yet another platform will not help conservation. The funding commitment (for IBCA) is more than what India can apparently afford to spend for 22 species at the brink of extinction,” said a conservationist who is aware of the proposal.

A big cat biologist, who has collaborated earlier with the Government, pointed out that “several key landscapes and species recovery programmes are languishing due to inadequate funding”.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Government official said: “The funding is not unjustified since the IBCA will offer the vision required to overcome such limitations. This is a conservation alliance unprecedented in scale, purpose and activities.”