India to organise nationwide Big Cat conservation events ahead of global IBCA Summit

New Delhi: In a major push to strengthen wildlife conservation awareness and showcase India’s global leadership in protecting big cats, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) will organise a series of thematic events across the country focusing on the conservation of India’s five iconic wild big cat species.

The programmes, to be held in different states, will highlight conservation achievements, ongoing challenges and collaborative efforts between the Centre and State Governments under flagship wildlife initiatives.

The events are also aimed at promoting the objectives of the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), launched under India’s leadership following a call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The thematic events will cover conservation programmes for the Asiatic Lion in Gir, Cheetah in Bhopal, Leopard in Bhubaneswar, Snow Leopard in Gangtok and Tiger in Chandrapur.

The Ministry in a statement said that, the pre-summit programmes are designed to create awareness, strengthen stakeholder participation and present India’s conservation success stories to the global community.

India’s tiger conservation programme will be a major highlight, with the country currently home to more than 70 per cent of the world’s wild tiger population.

The Chandrapur event under the ‘Theme: Flagship of India’s Forest Conservation‘ will showcase achievements under Project Tiger and initiatives by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), including expansion of tiger reserves, protection of wildlife corridors, anti-poaching infrastructure and use of technologies such as camera traps, M-STrIPES and AI-enabled monitoring systems.

The Gir event under the ‘Theme: India’s Unique Conservation Success‘ in Gujarat will focus on the successful recovery of the Asiatic Lion population through Project Lion, habitat improvement, disease surveillance and community participation involving Maldhari pastoralists.

Authorities will also highlight measures to expand lion habitats beyond Gir Protected Area and strengthen rapid response systems for conflict mitigation.

In Madhya Pradesh, the Bhopal programme under the event ‘Theme: Restoring India’s Grassland Ecosystems‘ will spotlight India’s ambitious cheetah reintroduction initiative under Project Cheetah, regarded as the world’s first intercontinental translocation project for large carnivores. The event will focus on habitat restoration, prey-base development, scientific monitoring and long-term grassland conservation efforts.

The Bhubaneswar event, coinciding with the International Day for Biological Diversity, under the ‘Theme: Coexistence in Human-Dominated Landscapes‘ will emphasise coexistence between humans and leopards in human-dominated landscapes. Officials will discuss conflict mitigation measures, rescue infrastructure, awareness campaigns and biodiversity conservation linked to ecosystem restoration.

Meanwhile, the Gangtok programme under the ‘Theme: Sentinel of the Himalaya‘ in Sikkim will underline the importance of conserving fragile Himalayan ecosystems through community-led conservation of snow leopards, sustainable livelihoods and climate-resilient conservation planning.

The Ministry said the thematic events would also serve as platforms to promote international cooperation, exchange conservation knowledge and reinforce India’s position as a global leader in wildlife conservation through the IBCA initiative.

The programmes are being organised in coordination with State Forest Departments, the Wildlife Institute of India, the National Biodiversity Authority, the Indian Institute of Forest Management and other stakeholders.