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| India Leads Global Effort: Establishing the IBCA |
In a significant move towards global conservation efforts, India's Environment Ministry obtained Cabinet approval on March 1, 2024, to establish the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) headquartered in New Delhi. This initiative draws inspiration from the successful International Solar Alliance, pioneered by India, aiming to bolster the conservation of big cats worldwide.
Origins:
The genesis of the IBCA traces back to the St. Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010, where a collective call for global collaboration emerged to double wild tiger populations by 2022. Building upon this momentum, the Second Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation in 2022, hosted by India, further advocated for an alliance to support transboundary projects and knowledge exchange, emphasizing the crucial role of tigers in maintaining healthy ecosystems across Asia.
Objectives:
As a pivotal coordination platform, the IBCA is designed to facilitate various initiatives, including transboundary monitoring to enhance forest and corridor management, directing conservation investments towards critical tiger habitats, advancing scientific data collection and monitoring technologies, combating wildlife trafficking through coordinated enforcement efforts, and sharing expertise on community stewardship models and sustainable eco-tourism practices. By connecting governments, multilateral agencies, corporations, experts, and local communities, the alliance aims to accelerate ambitious tiger recovery goals globally.
India's Leadership:
With over 50% of the world's wild tiger population, India has demonstrated commendable leadership in conservation efforts, notably through its grassroots-focused Project Tiger initiative, which successfully doubled tiger numbers from 2006 to 2019. The Environment Minister emphasized India's role as a beacon of conservation success, offering replicable practices in prey management, habitat preservation, and securing local livelihoods, which can serve as valuable lessons for other tiger-range nations within the framework of the IBCA. By hosting the alliance's headquarters in New Delhi, India underscores its commitment to the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, advocating for global unity in environmental conservation efforts.
Budget and Timelines:
India has committed ₹150 crore over five years as a founding contributor to establish the IBCA secretariat and initiate interim projects. In the long term, the alliance envisions broader partnerships with additional member countries providing financial and technical support. Subject to necessary approvals, the IBCA is projected to be formally launched at the Global Tiger Summit in September 2023, bringing together political leaders from tiger-range countries to reaffirm their commitment to big cat conservation efforts.