The National Assembly approved the bill establishing the Framework Agreement for the International Alliance of Big Cats by a clear supermajority this Friday. During the extraordinary session, Representative Oliver Rivas presented the bill, which aims to strengthen legal mechanisms for biodiversity conservation worldwide.
Rivas recalled that the instrument stems from the proposal of the Republic of India formulated in 2023 and currently has the support of 13 member states and the request for accession from more than 25 nations that have committed to the preservation of wildlife.
Preserving 7 species of felines
The central objective of the project, as Rivas pointed out, is to mitigate the impact of development models on the environment, which is why efforts are focused on protecting 7 species of felines that are considered the most representative of the planet.
"This legislative initiative seeks the protection of biodiversity, the protection of life and, in particular, of feline species threatened by a development model that commodifies them and often tramples on other forms of life on the planet," the parliamentarian asserted.
Venezuela is home to 6 of the world's 41 species
The deputy highlighted that Venezuela is home to 6 of the most important feline species in the world, which is equivalent to 14 percent of the global biodiversity of the feline family.
Therefore, he called for the eradication of the keeping of feline specimens, which sometimes turn out to be "eccentricities" or are used as pets by some individuals.
He said that the country is home to species "such as the jaguar, the puma, the ocelot—which is very well known—the margay, and the jaguarundi and oncilla. We want to ensure that these are no longer seen as eccentricities that might be displayed in the living room of some celebrity with such preferences, but rather that they remain a part of life. Many of these species are endemic, like the jaguar (Panthera onca), which is found today in the Amazon and the Essequibo region. Our members of parliament have frequently echoed concerns about the illegal trafficking of these species. Therefore, this agreement and this international alliance aim precisely to prevent habitat loss and fragmentation."
The proposed bill seeks to boost scientific agreements and exchanges for the implementation of environmentally friendly technologies.
"We also believe that production is not incompatible with the preservation of species, that development is not incompatible with the preservation of life, but rather that it should be an expression of it. But we must also promote research and exchange programs for the use of technologies that allow production to be environmentally friendly and, in this sense, protect some of these species and prevent hunting and their extinction."
Likewise, the parliamentarian detailed that more than 58% of Venezuelan territory is protected.
“No less than 58% of the territory of this Republic has some form of protection: either they are areas under special management or they are national parks. Just this year, in May, our president extended the protection decree for Terepaima National Park because spectacled bears were sighted there. This is a concrete example of how we remain committed to this chosen path under some form of environmental protection or special administrative regime,” he pointed out.
