NewzVille Desk
Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, addressed the High-Level Ministerial Segment on the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) at UNFCCC CoP30 in Belém, Brazil, on 17 November 2025. The event was graced by the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Government of Nepal, Dr. Madan Prasad Pariyar.
He called for renewed global cooperation to protect big cat species and their habitats as part of integrated climate and biodiversity action.
He emphasized that ecological challenges today are deeply interconnected and require linked solutions.
Yadav noted that Big cats are apex predators, regulators of ecological balance, and sentinels of ecosystem health. “Where big cats thrive, forests are healthier, grasslands regenerate, water systems function, and carbon is stored efficiently in living landscapes”.
He also highlighted that declines in big cat populations lead to destabilized ecosystems, weakened resilience to climate change, and loss of natural carbon sinks.
The Minister announced that the Government of India would be hosting a ‘Global Big Cats Summit’, in New Delhi in 2026. He invited all range countries to share their experiences and strategies to save big cats and their habitats. He called upon all nations to join IBCA and strengthen global conservation partnerships.
He urged, “We must collaborate, not compete. We must find strength not in isolation, but in solidarity”, he stated. He concluded with a strong message underlining the global significance of big cat conservation and said, “Protecting big cats is protecting our shared planet. Protecting big cats is protecting our future”.
