Protecting big cats ensures human future: Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav at COP30

Belem (Brazil): India has urged global leaders to step up efforts to protect big cats, saying that securing the future of these species will ensure a safe, long-lasting life for mankind.

Addressing the high-level Ministerial Segment on the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) at the ongoing UNFCCC COP30 Summit here on Monday, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav warned that a decline in big cat populations will destabilise the entire ecosystem.

IBCA is an India-led global initiative to conserve seven big cat species: the tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar, and puma. The alliance aims to promote collaboration among member countries to curb illegal wildlife trade, conserve habitats, and mobilise resources for conservation efforts.

"Where big cats thrive, forests are healthier, grasslands regenerate, water systems function, and carbon is stored efficiently in living landscapes," Yadav said.

He called for renewed global cooperation to protect big cat species and their habitats as part of integrated climate and biodiversity action.

"Ecological challenges today are deeply interconnected and require linked solutions. Big cats are apex predators, regulators of ecological balance, and sentinels of ecosystem health," Yadav noted.

The minister also highlighted that declines in big cat populations lead to destabilised ecosystems, weakened resilience to climate change, and loss of natural carbon sinks.

"What we often call wildlife conservation is, in fact, climate action in its most natural form," he said.

Yadav highlighted how conserving big cat landscapes directly strengthens carbon sequestration, watershed protection, disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation and sustainable livelihoods.

He outlined IBCA's potential to support countries through technical assistance, standardised tools, capacity building, south–south cooperation, and mobilisation of blended finance and biodiversity-carbon credit mechanisms.

Noting that India is home to five of the world's seven big cat species, Yadav shared the country's major conservation successes.

"India doubled its tiger population ahead of the target timeline, and our Asiatic lion population continues to grow well," he said.

The minister pointed out that India has built one of the world's most comprehensive wildlife databases through nationwide population assessments of tigers, lions, leopards and snow leopards, while expanding protected areas, securing corridors and partnering with local communities for conservation and eco-based livelihoods.

He said 17 countries are officially part of IBCA, with over 30 others expressing interest in joining.

Yadav emphasised India's ambition to bring all big cat range countries, and all nations committed to biodiversity and climate security, into the Alliance.

Announcing that India will host a 'Global Big Cats Summit' in New Delhi in 2026, he invited all countries to share their experiences and strategies to save big cats and their habitats, and strengthen conservation partnerships.

Calling for greater global cooperation, the minister stressed that the world stands at a moment of ecological realignment that requires unity and collaboration.

"We must collaborate, not compete. We must find strength not in isolation, but in solidarity. Protecting big cats is protecting our shared planet. Protecting big cats is protecting our future," Yadav said.