The aim of a Species Conservation Strategy is to secure the long-term survival of a cat taxon (species or subspecies) in form of a viable meta-population in its entire range or in a certain region. A species conservation strategy consists of two documents: 

• the Regional Conservation Strategy (RCS) providing guidance of the range-wide conservation of a cat species or subspecies;

• the National Action Plan (NAP) describing conservation measures to be implemented on a national or local scale. 

Action plans are tools for the implementation of conservation actions and define, for a certain state, province or country, which actions will be taken for the conservation of a cat species, based on the information from the Status Report and the Regional Conservation Strategy. 

Conservation Strategies and Action Plans are developed based on different concepts. The Conservation Strategies and Action Plans which follow the IUCN guidelines (as stated in the Strategic planning for Species Conservation) and the guidance of the Cat SG are marked with an asterisk.