Global alliance commits $80m to save world's wild cats and ecosystems

Environmental philanthropists from China, India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the US have agreed to provide funding of 80 million dollars to change the course of wild cat protection through Panthera, the organization dedicated to ensuring the future of wild cats through scientific leadership and conservation action.

The guaranteed, 10-year commitment to cat conservation, an undertaking unprecedented in its scale and scope, will fund the most effective solutions for conserving big cats so as to reduce poaching for local and international trade; retaliatory killing of large cats due to human-animal conflict; unsustainable hunting of prey; and the loss and fragmentation of habitat.

As the animals at the top of the food chain, these cats help maintain the delicate balance of the ecosystems in which they live and upon which humans depend, and serve as the flagship species for conserving large, wild landscapes.

Mr. Hemendra Kothari, Founder and Chairman of Wildlife Conservation Trust and Chairman of DSP Blackrock India, said the Wildlife Conservation Trust is delighted to join Panthera's Global Alliance, an unparalleled example of environmental collaboration.

He said having led by example in tiger conservation in India, it is heartening for the Wildlife Conservation Trust to be part of a truly unique international coalition that shares both our passion and commitment to the big cats - along with the determination to save them.