International Big Cat Alliance and Bhutan

The International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) is a treaty-based intergovernmental organisation, headquartered in New Delhi, that coordinates conservation of seven big cat species: the tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar and puma. It was launched by India in April 2023 and came into force as an international legal entity on 23 January 2025 after the required ratifications were deposited.^[1]

Bhutan completed its parliamentary accession to the alliance on 18 May 2026, when the National Council unanimously adopted the Framework Agreement on the Establishment of the International Big Cat Alliance. All 24 members present voted in favour, with none against.^[2] The National Assembly had approved the agreement in its preceding session in December 2025, and following the National Council vote the instrument was prepared for submission to His Majesty the King for Royal Assent.

The accession is the most substantive multilateral conservation commitment Bhutan has entered into since joining the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1995. It binds the country to a structured framework for data-sharing, capacity building and joint action on big cat conservation, alongside member states ranging from large range countries such as India and Russia to small kingdoms such as Eswatini. The alliance covers three of the species documented in Bhutan: the Bengal tiger, the snow leopard and the common leopard.

The International Big Cat Alliance

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the IBCA at Mysuru, Karnataka, on 9 April 2023, in remarks marking the fiftieth anniversary of India's Project Tiger. The Union Cabinet formally approved the establishment of the alliance with its headquarters and secretariat in India on 12 March 2024.^[3] The Framework Agreement was opened for signature later that year, with ratifications by India, Nicaragua, Eswatini, Somalia and Liberia triggering entry into force on 23 January 2025.^[1]

The alliance's stated objectives are to consolidate conservation practices across range and non-range states, support science-based interventions, mobilise finance, and combat poaching and illegal wildlife trade. Its governance comprises a General Assembly of all member states, a Council of seven to fifteen states serving five-year terms, and a Secretariat led by a Secretary General. India has pledged grant assistance of US$100 million over an initial five-year phase to capitalise the secretariat; beyond that period the alliance is expected to be funded through member contributions and partnerships with bilateral, multilateral and private actors.^[4]

The IBCA distinguishes between Member Countries that have ratified the Framework Agreement, Observer Countries, Partner Organisations and Conservation Partners. As of May 2026 the alliance counted around two dozen member or signatory states alongside several partner organisations, with India hosting the headquarters at Shanti Niketan, New Delhi.^[3] Russia, Sri Lanka and Angola joined the membership in early 2026, and an IBCA Summit was scheduled in India in 2026 to consolidate the institutional architecture.

Bhutan's accession

Bhutan was named among the alliance's prospective members from the time of its 2023 launch, but formal accession required parliamentary approval under the Constitution of Bhutan, which provides that international agreements take effect only after ratification by Parliament. Lyonpo Gem Tshering, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, introduced the Framework Agreement to the National Assembly on 29 November 2025.^[5] The Assembly debated the agreement in the December 2025 session and unanimously adopted it, after which it was transmitted to the upper house.

The National Council's Natural Resources and Environment Committee tabled the agreement for deliberation on Friday 15 May 2026. Three days later, on Monday 18 May 2026, all 24 members present voted in favour, completing the parliamentary stage of ratification.^[2] Bhutan Broadcasting Service reported the vote as unanimous, with no member voting against. The agreement now awaits Royal Assent before Bhutan's instrument of ratification can be deposited with the IBCA Secretariat in New Delhi.

During the parliamentary debate, members raised questions about long-term financial obligations, the implications for domestic wildlife policy, and the balance between conservation commitments and Bhutan's ongoing struggle with human-wildlife conflict.^[6] The government's position, set out by Lyonpo Gem Tshering, was that membership would give Bhutan access to a wider pool of conservation finance, technical exchange and standard-setting that the country could not generate from domestic resources alone.

Relationship to existing conservation work

Bhutan brings to the alliance a documented record of recovery in big cat populations. The Department of Forests and Park Services reported 131 adult tigers in the 2021–22 National Tiger Survey, a 27 per cent increase over the 2015 baseline of 103, and the 2022–23 National Snow Leopard Survey confirmed 134 individuals across five protected areas, a 39.5 per cent increase over the 2016 figure of 96.^[7] Both species are listed as protected under Bhutan's Forest and Nature Conservation Act 1995 and its 2023 successor framework.

The country's protected area network — anchored by Jigme Dorji National Park, Royal Manas National Park and Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park, together with a system of biological corridors — covers more than half the national territory and provides habitat for all three big cat species recorded in Bhutan. Membership in the IBCA does not displace these domestic arrangements; rather, the alliance is structured as a coordination and finance body sitting above national systems. Bhutan's National Focal Point under the Framework Agreement is expected to be located within the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, which absorbed forestry functions in the December 2022 ministerial reorganisation.

The accession also complements Bhutan's existing bilateral conservation cooperation with India under Bhutan–India relations, including joint tiger monitoring in the transboundary Manas landscape, and its participation in the Global Tiger Forum and the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme.

Implementation outlook

With parliamentary approval complete, the remaining domestic steps are Royal Assent and the deposit of Bhutan's instrument of ratification with the IBCA Secretariat. The agreement enters into force for Bhutan thirty days after deposit, in line with the standard provisions of the Framework Agreement.^[1] Detailed obligations on staffing the National Focal Point, contributing to data-sharing platforms and committing financial resources to the alliance are expected to be worked out through subordinate instruments and budgetary processes in the financial years following ratification.

Coverage in Bhutan-based media has been factual and broadly favourable, while raising the cost questions noted above. Independent commentary on Bhutan's accession from international conservation organisations has been limited, reflecting the IBCA's status as a relatively new institution still building its programme of work.

References

1. International Big Cat Alliance officially comes into force as a full-fledged treaty-based intergovernmental international organisation — Press Information Bureau, Government of India, 23 January 2025
2. NC adopts Framework Agreement on the Establishment of the International Big Cat Alliance — Bhutan Broadcasting Service, 18 May 2026
3. About the IBCA — International Big Cat Alliance official website
4. International Big Cat Alliance — Wikipedia
5. Bhutan moves to join International Big Cat Alliance — Kuensel
6. MPs question long-term costs of Bhutan's commitment to big cat conservation — Kuensel
7. The National Snow Leopard Survey 2022-23 Confirms 134 snow leopards in the country — Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Royal Government of Bhutan
8. International Big Cat Alliance comes into force as a treaty-based inter-governmental international organisation — Down to Earth