International Big Cat Alliance Summit 2026: IBCA Facts
Why in the news
The Environment Minister unveiled the website and logo for the first IBCA Summit, due in New Delhi in 2026. The event marks IBCA’s move from an Indian idea of 2023 to a working inter-governmental organisation.
Key facts
- Membership: 95 big cat range countries, with conservation partners and scientific bodies.
- Base: headquartered in India, comparable to the International Solar Alliance.
- Focus: the “Big Seven” species.
- Idea: India to share models such as the All-India Tiger Estimation with other nations.
- Support: financial and technical help to resource-poor countries in Africa and South America.
The Big Seven
| Species | Note from the notes |
|---|---|
| Tiger | Centre of India’s conservation success |
| Lion | Asiatic lions live only in the Gir landscape of India |
| Leopard | Adaptable, but facing rising human-wildlife conflict |
| Snow leopard | “Ghost of the Mountains”, vital for Himalayan ecology |
| Cheetah | Reintroduced from Africa to Kuno National Park |
| Jaguar and puma | Native to the Americas; scope for ties with Brazil and Mexico |
Five of the seven (tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah) are found in the wild in India.
Background
- A range country is one where a species lives naturally in the wild; India for tigers, Brazil for jaguars.
- Project Tiger (1973) is the benchmark India wants to offer as an “Indian Model”.
- Transboundary cooperation covers treaties and joint patrols so cats can use safe corridors across borders.
Exam angle
- Headquarters: India.
- Species not in the Big Seven: clouded leopard.
- Related terms: range country, Project Tiger, Project Lion, International Solar Alliance.