RAS question
At COP30 Belém, India announced hosting a Global Big Cats Summit in New Delhi in 2026. How many countries are now associated with the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA)?
Correct answer: (C) 17 countries.
The International Big Cats Alliance now has 17 countries formally associated with it.
Explanation
At the High-Level Ministerial Segment on the International Big Cat Alliance at UNFCCC COP30 in Belem, Brazil, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said that 17 countries are formally associated with IBCA, while over 30 more have expressed willingness to join. In the same intervention, India announced that it would host a Global Big Cats Summit in New Delhi in 2026. The answer is therefore 17 countries, not a smaller founding-style count or a larger aspirational figure. The PIB release also frames the announcement as part of India's argument that big cat conservation is linked to climate mitigation, adaptation and ecosystem resilience, with wildlife conservation described as climate action in its natural form.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Seven countries understates the figure reported in the PIB release, which says 17 countries are formally associated with IBCA.
- (B) Twelve countries is not the number given for IBCA association in the COP30 statement; the stated figure is 17.
- (D) Twenty-five countries overstates the formally associated membership, although the release separately notes that over 30 more countries have expressed willingness to join.
Concept
This tests current environment governance, especially India's species-conservation diplomacy through IBCA. It recurs in RAS because big cat conservation links biodiversity, climate policy and India's role in global environmental platforms.