Bhubaneswar, May 13: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) will organise a series of thematic events across the country ahead of the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) Summit 2026 to highlight India’s conservation efforts for major wild cat species.
The programmes will focus on India’s five big cat species - tiger, Asiatic lion, leopard, snow leopard and cheetah - and showcase conservation achievements, challenges and collaborative initiatives undertaken by the Centre and State Governments.
According to the Ministry, the events will be held at key locations associated with each species. Bhubaneswar will host the Leopard Conservation and International Day for Biological Diversity event, while the Snow Leopard Conservation Programme will be organised in Gangtok, Sikkim. The Tiger Conservation Programme will be held in Chandrapur, Maharashtra. The Asiatic Lion Conservation Programme will be organised in Gir, Gujarat, while the Cheetah Conservation Programme will take place in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
The Bhubaneswar event will focus on leopard conservation and coexistence in human-dominated landscapes. The Ministry said measures including rapid response teams, rescue and rehabilitation infrastructure, public awareness campaigns and technology-based monitoring are helping address human-wildlife conflict. The programme will coincide with the observance of the International Day for Biological Diversity.
The schedule of the propsoed events will be annouced soon.
These pre-summit programmes are designed to promote awareness, strengthen stakeholder engagement and highlight India’s conservation success stories under flagship initiatives of the Government of India and how these have resulted in establishment of the IBCA under India’s leadership on a clarion call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Leopard Conservation & International Day for Biological Diversity, Bhubaneswar will hold the thematic event on the theme Coexistence in Human-Dominated Landscapes.
Leopards are among the most widely distributed big cats in India and often inhabit areas close to human settlements.
The Bhubaneswar event, coinciding with the observance of the International Day for Biological Diversity, will emphasise coexistence and biodiversity conservation in human-dominated landscapes.
The events are being organised by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in coordination with State Forest Departments, NTCA, Wildlife Institute of India, national Biodiversity Authority, Indian Institute of Forest Management and other stakeholders.
