New Delhi, Feb 29 : The Union Cabinet on Thursday granted approval to establish a global alliance for big cats with a one-time budgetary support of Rs 150 crore for a period of five years.

The International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), with its headquarters in India, aims to safeguard the future of big cats and the landscapes that they thrive in.

It was first formally launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 9, 2023, at an event commemorating 50 years of India's Project Tiger. He had also called for an alliance of global leaders to curb poaching in Asia at the Global Tiger Day, 2019.

The tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar, and the cheetah are the seven big cats and out of these, five big cats, viz. tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, and cheetah are found in India.

"IBCA has secured India's initial support of Rs 150 crore for five years (2023-24 to 2027-28). For augmented corpus, contributions from bilateral and multilateral agencies; other appropriate institutions and mobilising financial support from public sector organisations, national and international financial institutions and donor agencies will further be explored," according to a Cabinet statement.

"The Alliance ensures sustainable use of natural resources and mitigates challenges emanating from climate change. By safeguarding big cats and their habitats, the IBCA contributes to natural climate adaptation, water and food security and well-being of thousands of communities reliant on these ecosystems. IBCA would instill cooperation among countries for mutual benefit and immensely contribute in furthering the long term conservation agenda," it added.

The alliance will work as a multi-country, multi-agency coalition of 96 big cat range countries, as well as non-range countries that are interested in big cat conservation. Besides conservation partners and scientific organisations, it will also include business groups and corporates willing to contribute to the cause of big cats. "This will be a demonstrative step in leadership position on the big cat agenda, to bring range countries and others on a common platform," the statement said.

/IANS