Bengaluru: Nearly three years after its launch by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mysuru, the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) is set to hold its first key meeting in Bengaluru this Sunday. The inaugural session comes ahead of the international summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi later this year, as announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget. Forest department sources told TOI although IBCA was launched in April 2023, it was formally constituted only in Jan 2025. “As a prelude to the forthcoming global summit in Delhi, the Centre chose Bengaluru to host the inaugural session in recognition of the state’s best practices in protecting big cats. These methods will be showcased during Sunday’s session,” a forest department official said.According to confirmations received from range countries across the globe, around 40 delegates from 18 member-nations will arrive in Bengaluru for the meeting and deliberate on conservation methodologies. “After the inaugural event, the delegates will head to Mysuru, where they will stay for three days to understand Karnataka’s Project Tiger initiatives at Bandipur and Nagarahole reserves,” the officer explained.IBCA is a multi-country, multi-agency coalition headquartered in Delhi. It comprises 95 big cat range countries, non-range nations with an interest in big cat conservation — including tiger, lion, leopard, puma, jaguar, cheetah and snow leopard — along with conservation partners, scientific organisations engaged in research, and business groups committed to supporting conservation efforts.
