New Delhi: The International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) held its first assembly at its Delhi headquarters on Monday.
The assembly approved the Headquarters Agreement signed with India, work plan, rules of procedure and the manual of staff and financial regulations.
These will serve as the guiding foundation for the effective governance, operations, and collaborative initiatives of IBCA.
The assembly also endorsed the proceedings of the first International Steering Committee meeting of IBCA, which was held in April 2024, according to a statement by India’s environment ministry.
Further, the assembly unanimously endorsed Bhupender Yadav, India’s environment minister as the president of IBCA. The assembly also endorsed SP Yadav as the director general of IBCA.
Created by the Government of India, the IBCA is a coalition of 95 range countries with a mandate for the conservation of seven big cats namely Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar and Puma.
The assembly, which is the apex body of IBCA, was attended in Delhi by ministerial delegations from Bhutan, Cambodia, Eswatini, Guinea, India, Liberia, Suriname, Somalia and Kazakhstan.
In his address, Yadav called upon the Big Cat range countries to actively engage and collaborate in the initiatives and programmes of IBCA. He emphasised the importance of collective action to advance the conservation and protection of the seven major big cat species and their natural habitats and assist in securing our ecological future and mitigate adverse effects of climate change.
The IBCA was established by the Government of India, through its nodal organisation viz. National Tiger Conservation Authority, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 2024. The primary objective of IBCA is to facilitate collaboration and synergy among range countries and other stakeholders.