Ivonne Higuero

Around the world, medicinal and aromatic plants are woven into the daily lives of billions of people.  

They flavour our foods, anchor our healing traditions, support our well‑being, and sustain livelihoods in rural and Indigenous communities.  

On this World Wildlife Day 2026, we shine a spotlight on these remarkable species — and on the knowledge systems that have conserved them for generations.

Medicinal and aromatic plants are part of humanity’s oldest relationship with nature. Long before modern science could explain their properties, communities understood their power. They learned which roots could heal, which leaves could soothe, which resins could protect.  

This heritage is still alive today, carried forward by traditional healers, harvesters, growers, and families who rely on these plants for health and cultural identity.

These species also play a fundamental role in today’s global economy. From ginseng to agarwood, from orchids to aloes, many medicinal and aromatic plants are traded internationally — and over 1,500 are regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES. Through CITES, countries work together to ensure that this trade is legal, traceable, and sustainable, so that wild populations are not depleted, and communities can continue to benefit from them.

Yet the pressures are growing. Along with the triple planetary crisis, unsustainable harvesting and illegal trade threaten the very plants that have supported human health for millennia.  

As demand rises, so does the urgency to strengthen sustainable management, support community‑led stewardship, and respect traditional knowledge.

This year’s theme — “Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Conserving Health, Heritage and Livelihoods” — reminds us that the benefits of nature are shared fairly and sustainably.

For this World Wildlife Day, I invite you to share your ideas. How can we better conserve medicinal and aromatic plants? How can we support the communities who depend on them? And how can we ensure that these species continue to enrich our lives — in our medicines, our traditions, and our economies?

Conserving medicinal and aromatic plants is a commitment to our collective well‑being. It is a commitment to the people who have protected these species for generations, and to the future generations who will depend on them.

Happy World Wildlife Day 2026!