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The Sundarbans’ climate vulnerability, mangrove ecosystem and Royal Bengal tiger habitat will be discussed at the International Big Cat Alliance summit in Delhi, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has said.
Yadav said the region’s future is linked to global conservation and climate action, and identified responsible ecotourism as a livelihood option with “significant potential”.
Experts welcomed the focus on the Sundarbans but warned that large-scale tourism could further damage an ecosystem already under pressure from climate change, salinity and habitat degradation.
The summit is expected to bring together heads of state, ministers, conservation experts and international organisations to discuss protection of the world’s seven major big cats.
The Sundarbans’ ecological future cannot be separated from global climate and conservation efforts, Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav has said, as India prepares to host the first International Big Cat Alliance summit in Delhi, where the world’s seven major big cat species and their habitats will be discussed.
The Sundarbans faces serious climate change challenges, Yadav said in an interview on May 19, 2026. Ecotourism has significant potential as a livelihood option in the Sundarbans, the minister said.
The West Bengal government had not adequately explored the tourism potential of the Sundarbans, Yadav claimed before the state election, in which he played a leadership role for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Over-tourism could significantly harm the Sundarbans’ unique ecosystem and biodiversity, several Sundarbans experts told this correspondent.
The minister’s proposal on the Sundarbans deserves cautious consideration, the experts said.
The big cat summit is expected to be attended by several heads of state and ministers from big cat countries, along with experts and representatives from major international conservation organisations, the minister said.
Several Sundarbans experts whom this correspondent spoke to cautiously welcomed the minister’s proposal for the Sundarbans, but observed that over-tourism could significantly harm its unique ecosystem and biodiversity.
The big cat summit is expected to be attended by several heads of state and ministers from big cat countries, alongside experts and representatives from major international conservation organisations.
The IBCA summit is being planned as a historic and first-of-its-kind global gathering dedicated exclusively to the conservation of the world’s seven major big cats and the ecosystems they inhabit, Yadav said. “Our expectation is that the Summit will elevate big cat conservation from a sectoral wildlife issue to a global sustainability and ecological security agenda,” said the minister.
Invitations have been extended to big cat range countries and the response has been encouraging, he said. “We expect participation from heads of state or government and ministers from IBCA member and observer countries, as well as senior officials, scientists, conservation practitioners, multilateral agencies, and corporates,” added Yadav.
“Major international conservation organisations, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), are also expected to participate,” he said.
The Delhi Declaration on Big Cat Conservation is likely to be adopted at the summit, the minister said. The declaration is expected to provide a unified global framework for habitat protection, ecological connectivity, transboundary cooperation, community stewardship and sustainable financing, he added.
The summit is also expected to facilitate international partnerships and the launch of transnational projects. A global platform for coordinated conservation action, knowledge exchange and resource mobilisation for the future is also expected from the summit, Yadav said.
The International Big Cat Alliance is already emerging as a major global alliance for conservation cooperation, similar in spirit to the International Solar Alliance, the minister said.
The IBCA was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023 and has evolved into a treaty-based intergovernmental international organisation with 24 formal member countries, along with several observer nations, international organisations and scientific bodies. The alliance’s mandate is to conserve seven major big cat species: tigers, lions, leopards, snow leopards, cheetahs, jaguars and pumas.
The summit and the proposed Delhi Declaration will further consolidate the IBCA’s role as a global coordinating platform for conservation diplomacy, South-South cooperation and sustainable ecological development, Yadav said.
Yadav said the Sundarbans represented “one of the world’s most unique and climate-sensitive ecosystems”.
“As the largest mangrove ecosystem on earth and an important tiger landscape shared by India and Bangladesh, its future is closely linked to the success of global conservation and climate action,” he said.
The minister said the region faced serious challenges from sea-level rise, cyclones, salinity intrusion, habitat degradation and changing ecological conditions caused by climate change.
“These impacts affect not only biodiversity, including the tiger, but also the livelihoods and resilience of millions of people dependent on the ecosystem,” he said. Yadav said the government saw “significant potential for responsible ecotourism” in the Sundarbans.
“Our focus is to promote eco-friendly tourism models that generate local employment through community-led enterprises while ensuring ecological safeguards,” he said.
He added that the Sundarbans was not only a wildlife habitat but also a natural climate shield and a major blue carbon ecosystem.
But experts said the region needed a broader, more integrated approach.
“Alongside the increasing direct impacts of climate change, weak river embankments, soil salinisation and mass out-migration triggered by loss of natural resources and livelihood limitations are the major interconnected challenges facing the Sundarbans,” said Professor Tuhin Ghosh, director of the School of Oceanographic Studies at Jadavpur University and a Sundarbans expert.
“The Union government should look at the landscape in a holistic manner,” he said.
Another expert said responsible, community-centred ecotourism could help local people, but warned against large-scale tourism.
“While community-centric responsible ecotourism is welcome, mega tourism should be avoided in this extremely sensitive ecosystem. Already, existing tourism has impacted it in a significant manner,” the expert said.
Asked whether there could be a green fund package for West Bengal, particularly for vulnerable areas such as the Sundarbans, Yadav said the government would explore innovative Centre-state coordinated funding. However, he stopped short of committing to any new package.
West Bengal is environmentally vulnerable, with the Himalayas in the north and the Bay of Bengal in the south.
“The state of West Bengal faces serious environmental and climatic challenges and increasing climate vulnerability,” the minister said.
He said the Union government would emphasise innovative funding to address core issues and added that it was approaching these challenges through an integrated and cooperative framework.
“As far as financial support is concerned, the Government of India continues to provide assistance through centrally sponsored schemes,” he said.
“Going forward, our emphasis will remain on strengthening cooperation with the state government and mobilising innovative financing and partnerships for long-term environmental sustainability and climate resilience in West Bengal.”
Yadav said the government’s approach to the Sundarbans was “holistic and landscape-based”.
“The Government of India is strengthening mangrove conservation, ecological restoration, climate resilience and sustainable livelihood opportunities through multiple initiatives,” he said.
