India to host first Big Cat Summit in June; 95 countries set to participate

ENVIRONMENT – BIODIVERSITY

7 MAY 2026

• The inaugural International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) Summit, to be held in New Delhi from June 1 to 3, 2026.
• The IBCA, piloted and conceived by India, was officially launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023.
• The IBCA is an association of countries that host, or have itinerant populations of at least one of the seven ‘big cats’ — lions, tigers, leopards, snow leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, and pumas — and are committed to the conservation of these animals.
• India is the only country in the world to host five of these big cats; Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, and Cheetah.
• There are 24 member countries, three observer countries, and several other ‘range’ countries in the alliance.
• Representatives from 95 countries are expected to participate, the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change said.
• It is expected to adopt 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.