Nagpur: Chandrapur has been chosen as the venue for a tiger conservation programme scheduled for May 28, under the theme 'Flagship of India's Forest Conservation'. This event is part of the build-up to the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) Summit 2026, which will take place in June. It is one of five thematic conservation programmes being organized across the country, as announced by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on Wednesday. These programmes will focus on India's five major big cat species: the tiger, Asiatic lion, leopard, snow leopard, and cheetah.
Spotlight on Tiger Recovery
The Chandrapur event will emphasize India's tiger recovery efforts under Project Tiger and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). It will also highlight Maharashtra's initiatives in the Vidarbha landscape to improve wildlife corridors and reduce human-animal conflict. The ministry stated that the programme would underscore the country's "remarkable recovery in tiger numbers" and ongoing efforts to secure habitats through scientific monitoring and community participation. Officials also pointed to eco-development initiatives and wildlife tourism projects that have generated local livelihood opportunities around tiger reserves.
"India is home to over 70% of the world's wild tiger population and has emerged as a global leader in tiger conservation," the ministry said in a statement. It cited sustained interventions such as the expansion of tiger reserves, camera-trap monitoring, surveillance systems, anti-poaching infrastructure, and voluntary village relocation from core habitats.
Other Thematic Events Across India
The other thematic conservation programmes will be held in Gir, Gujarat, for Asiatic lion conservation; Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, for cheetah conservation; Bhubaneswar, Odisha, for leopard conservation, linked to the International Day for Biological Diversity; and Gangtok, Sikkim, for snow leopard conservation. According to the ministry, these pre-summit programmes aim to "promote awareness, strengthen stakeholder engagement, and highlight India's conservation success stories" under initiatives launched by the Government of India. The events are also expected to reinforce the objectives of the International Big Cat Alliance, a multinational platform proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strengthen global cooperation for the protection of major cat species.
This outreach comes at a time when India is increasingly positioning conservation diplomacy alongside climate and biodiversity commitments on the international stage. Meanwhile, states such as Maharashtra continue to face the dual challenge of preserving wildlife habitats and managing rising human-animal interactions in rapidly developing regions.
