International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA)

Prelims – Current events of national Importance | General issues on Bio-diversity.

Mains (GS III) – Conservation.

Why in News?

The Ministry of External Affairs recently announced that Indian Government and the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) signed 'Headquarters Agreement' to establish the alliance's headquarters and secretariat in India.

• It is a multi-country, multi-agency coalition.

• Launched on - April 9, 2023 by India during the 50^th anniversary celebration of 'Project Tiger'.

Project Tiger was Launched in 1973  by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to protect the India’s tiger population.

• Aim - To conserve 7 big cats tigers, lions, leopards, snow leopards, cheetahs, jaguars and pumas worldwide.
• Partnership - The IBCA aims to bring together 97 range countries (where these big cats live), non-range countries interested in big cat conservation, conservation partners, and scientific organizations.
• Headquarters & Secretariat - India.
• Objective – To ensure cooperation for the conservation of 7 big cats by arresting decline in population and reverse the trend.
• To establish a central repository for knowledge sharing, capacity building, networking, advocacy, finance and support research.

Big Cats

• Big Cat – A term that is used in informal speech to apply to any large species of the family Felidae.
• Usually, it applies to the members of the genus Panthera but 2 other cats Puma (Puma concolor) and Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) are also usually included in listings of ‘big cats’.
• 7 Big cats – Lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, snow leopard, jaguar, and puma.

The Indian subcontinent has been historically home to the Bengal tiger, Asiatic lion, Indian leopard, Indian/Asiatic cheetah as well as Snow leopard.

• In India – 5 out of 7 cats except jaguar and puma are found here.
• While cheetah was declared extinct in 1952, it is now reintroduced as a part of Cheetah reintroduction project.

Cheetah reintroduction project involves translocating cheetahs from Africa to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh and other suitable habitats.
 

Reference

Economic Times | International Big Cat Alliance