BENGALURU: Nearly 3 years after its launch by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mysuru, the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) is set to take a significant step in global wildlife cooperation by organising an ITEC Executive Course for Wildlife and Conservation Practitioners in Bengaluru from February 8 to 13. The delegates will subsequently spend 3 days in Mysuru, visiting Bandipur and Nagarahole Tiger Reserves.The programme is being conducted under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), govt of India, and underscores India’s growing leadership in global wildlife conservation and capacity building. ITEC is a flagship platform through which India shares its development experience, best practices and institutional strengths with partner countries of the Global South, fostering long-term cooperation, mutual learning and people-to-people linkages, including in biodiversity conservation.The course is being organised by IBCA in collaboration with the Karnataka govt, MEA, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII). Around 40 senior officials from 23 countries—comprising policymakers, field managers and conservation practitioners—are expected to participate. Officials said the executive course will serve as a precursor to the first-ever global IBCA summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi in 2026, as announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech on Sunday.Forest department sources said Karnataka was chosen to host the programme to showcase its globally recognised leadership in biodiversity conservation and wildlife management. “The state’s best practices in tiger and elephant conservation, protected area management, landscape-level planning, human-wildlife conflict mitigation and community engagement will be highlighted during the programme,” an official said.As part of the course, participants will undergo field-based sessions at Bandipur and Nagarahole Tiger Reserves, providing first-hand exposure to Karnataka’s conservation models and on-ground management of complex wildlife landscapes.Headquartered in New Delhi, IBCA is a multi-country, multi-agency coalition bringing together big cat range countries, non-range nations, conservation partners, scientific institutions and business groups committed to protecting species such as tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, pumas and snow leopards. The upcoming programme reinforces IBCA’s focus on training, capacity building and South-South cooperation in wildlife conservation.Photo Caption: Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the launch of IBCA at Mysuru in April 2023 along with Union Minister for MoEF&CC Bhupender Yadav.
