Activists fighting against the proposed Metro III carshed in Aarey Colony are knocking on the doors of international fora to highlight the issue. Empower Foundation (EF), a city non-profit, has written to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, known for its 'Red List' database of endangered species and its efforts to conserve wildlife.

Founded in 1948, the Switzerland-headquartered IUCN has 1,300 governmental and non-governmental organisations as its members. IUCN's Red List classifies the leopard as a 'vulnerable species.' Any drastic decrease in the world leopard population will put it in the 'Being Endangered' bracket. In its plea to the Union government and IUCN, EF has used information obtained under Right to Information Act to argue that destruction of trees in Aarey will deprive Mumbai's leopards of their natural habitat.