India to host first global big cat summit in June

India will host the first-ever International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) summit on 1 June in New Delhi, bringing together world leaders, experts and stakeholders to shape a coordinated international response for protecting threatened species, said Union environment minister Bhupendra Yadav on Wednesday.

The summit, themed “Save Big Cats, Save Humanity, Save Ecosystem”, will see participation from heads of 25 member countries and four observer countries, and will bring together over 400 stakeholders, including policymakers, scientists, financial institutions, corporates and community representatives.

The IBCA, launched in 2023 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a first-of-its-kind intergovernmental alliance focused on conserving seven big cat species—lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar and puma—across their global ranges.

Yadav, while launching the website and logo for the summit, said the summit would mark a “defining moment” in conservation diplomacy, aimed at strengthening international partnerships and promoting South-South cooperation.

He informed that a key outcome of the summit would be the adoption of the first-ever global declaration on big cat conservation, titled the ‘Delhi Declaration’, which will articulate shared priorities, strengthen transboundary cooperation and promote a landscape-based approach for conserving big cats and their habitats.

Big cat protection

Highlighting India’s track record, the minister pointed to flagship programmes such as Project Tiger and ongoing efforts to conserve lions, leopards, snow leopards, and cheetahs, underscoring a model that balances ecological protection with development goals.

The summit will be followed by technical sessions on 1-2 June, involving officials and experts from 95 big cat range countries. A curated exhibition showcasing tribal art, films, virtual reality installations, and India’s conservation practices will also be held.

The minister emphasized that the upcoming summit will be a defining moment in global conservation diplomacy, bringing together world leaders, experts, and partners to deliberate on the future of big cat conservation.

He underlined that the summit will strengthen international partnerships, promote South-South cooperation, inspire collective action among big cat range countries, and align conservation efforts with global biodiversity and climate goals.

For the first time, world leaders will convene exclusively to deliberate on big cat conservation across continents, he added.