Our world heals through plants.
Not only in towering forests – but in the herbs in our tea, the oils on our skin, the spices in our food, and the remedies passed down from our ancestors.
For generations, humans have relied on medicinal and aromatic plants.
Their stories are written in roots and leaves; a ‘natural’ source of wisdom sustaining communities, economies and identities through the ages.
Join us on #WorldWildlifeDay (3 March) – not just to celebrate – but also to learn more about medicinal and aromatic plants, and how we can support their conservation so that they continue to flourish in the wild and nourish our health, heritage and livelihoods.
World-class footage by @openplanetorg and @envato
#WWD2026 #MedicinalAromaticPlants #WorldWildlifeDay2026 #plants
Announcing free CITES online courses!
Hosted on the @informea_un platform, two new e‑learning opportunities are now available:
✨ The CITES Basic e‑Learning Course
✨ The CITES Course on Amendments to Appendices I & II
Learn more about: - CITES authorities - Regulation of trade in specimens of CITES-listed species and the CITES permit system - Exemptions and other special provisions - Non-Detriment Findings - Proposals to Amend the CITES Appendices - CITES enforcement
Take the courses today and earn your certificate of completion: rmea.org/
Special thanks to @zoi.environment.network for making this possible.
🌱 Plant health is a foundation for biodiversity, livelihoods, resilient ecosystems and human well-being.
From timber-producing trees and medicinal aloes, to edible orchids and keystone cacti, healthy plants mean food on tables, medicine in homes and income for millions of people.
On today’s #PlantHealthDay, I’d like to highlight Cape Aloe (Aloe ferox). This CITES Appendix II species is essential for both biodiversity and livelihoods in southern Africa, where it is a long‑lived, endemic species. As South Africa’s most heavily wild‑harvested indigenous plant, it is valued for the bitter sap used in medicinal and cosmetic products. With around 95% of supply still sourced from the wild, sustainable Cape Aloe harvesting supports thousands of rural households, providing a vital source of income, preserving traditional knowledge passed through generations, and offering employment opportunities, particularly for women.
Conserving wild and wonderful flora like Cape Aloe helps maintain healthy plant life, ensuring not only species survival, but also the sustained vitality of ecosystems, cultures, and livelihoods for future generations.
📸 s_era/iNaturalist
#CITES50 Milestone: 2023 - Launch of the CITES Illegal Trade Database 📊
This database contains data on individual wildlife seizures at the global level, as reported by CITES Parties through the annual illegal trade reports (AITR) since 2016.
The AITR is an annual data collection that gathers information on individual wildlife seizure events, including the amounts seized, trafficking routes, taxon information, and mode of transport, amongst many other characteristics, for each reported event.
Available exclusively to governmental representatives of CITES Parties, including national CITES Management Authorities, as well as International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) partner agencies, allowing for the dissemination of reported information in a restricted and secure environment ➡️ citesdata.un.org
📊🔬Scientific information on migratory species included in the CITES Appendices is essential for the effective implementation of this Convention, ensuring the international trade in these species remains sustainable.
Many @CITES ‑listed migratory birds are valued for cultural, ecological, traditional or aesthetic reasons, and their conservation depends on effective regulation guided by sound science.
Observations from around the world strengthen this foundation and help ensure that CITES decisions align with conditions along migratory pathways.
Your observations matter, and together we can help ensure these species continue their customary journeys for generations to come.
📸 Jiao Sun and Tom Field
#WorldMigratoryBirdDay @worldmigratorybirdday
Migratory birds are extraordinary travellers whose journeys link ecosystems, cultures, and economies across the globe.
This #WorldMigratoryBirdDay is a reminder that every observation matters in conserving migratory birds, and each sighting paints a clearer picture of how they are responding to our rapidly changing world.
@worldmigratorybirdday
#WMBD2026 #MigratoryBirds
Every feathered traveler has a story 🦩🦉🦅🪿— and every one of your observations helps us understand, conserve and celebrate the incredible journeys migratory birds make each year.
The CITES Appendices include migratory bird species that are traded internationally and require scientific assessments to ensure the international trade is not detrimental to their survival. Citizen science can help fill knowledge gaps, including by contributing data on observations and distribution.
For today’s #WorldMigratoryBirdDay, we’ve invited wildlife photographer @thewildthomas to share some of his observations of CITES-listed migratory birds:
1️⃣&2️⃣ Being from the south of France, greater flamingos are part of the landscape of the swamps of Camargue. There is something quite unique about these birds, from their colour, to their diet, and migratory routes which are different depending on the population. In my region they are intra-Mediterranean migrants, moving mainly between France and Spain. Watching the flamingos awaken at sunrise holds the promise of a good day with birds, lost in the swamps.
3️⃣ The Spanish imperial eagle is native to the Iberian Peninsula and one of the symbols of Spain. Unlike the more migratory eastern imperial eagle, the vast majority of Spanish imperial eagles resides in Spain but immature birds regularly move and migrate to neighbouring countries such as Portugal and Morocco. Being in the presence of such a powerful raptor is a truly humbling experience.
4️⃣ The red-breasted goose is a small goose native to Siberia. While much smaller and less powerful than many of its cousins, it undertakes a long migration until its winter grounds, mainly around the Black Sea. This is one of the most brightly coloured geese, and a truly beautiful water bird.
5️⃣ Owls are among my favourite birds. The long-eared owl takes its name from the long tufted feathers on its head. While southern populations are mainly sedentary, northern populations migrate south to avoid the rigors of the north winter cold. In winter, it is common to see groups of long-eared owls roosting together in their favourite trees.
📸 Thomas Deleuil @thewildthomas
#CITES50 Milestone: 2022 - CoP19
The nineteenth #WorldWildlifeConference (CITES CoP19) took place in Panama City, Panama adopting proposals on birds, sharks and rays, turtles, tortoises, amphibians, trees, and resolutions on capacity-building, gender, materials for identification of CITES species specimens, and the conservation of and trade in marine turtles.
Read the CITES Secretary-General's reflections on CoP19: /eng/news/sg/reflection-on-cites-cop19-outcomes
Eleven-year-old Yonghang Luo from China was selected as a #WorldWildlifeDay2026 International Youth Art Contest finalist in the Ages 11–14 category 🎨🌍
This artwork reminds us of the role of rhinos as keystone species in shaping and maintaining their habitats. By creating natural waterholes and dispersing seeds through their dung, they support a wide range of other wildlife in their ecosystem. 🦏
The annual World Wildlife Day International Youth Art Contest is organized by @ifawglobal in partnership with @cites and @undp .
#WWD2026 #HealthHeritageLivelihoods
#Wildlife does not recognize borders, so our cooperation must also extend beyond them.
This week at the #RES2026 Summit in #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 during the high-level panel on regional cooperation and biodiversity conservation action in Central Asia, I had the privilege of underscoring why regional cooperation is essential for the effective implementation of CITES.
Species move across countries, wildlife trade spans continents and illegal networks exploit gaps between jurisdictions. This reality makes coordinated regional action critical to addressing shared conservation challenges.
Effective regional cooperation enables countries to act collectively by:
⚖️ Building policy coherence and supporting collective legal compliance
📊 Sharing scientific data to support sound, evidence‑based decision‑making
🔗 Enhancing enforcement through information and intelligence exchange
Elephants are ecosystem engineers. By knocking down trees, they create grasslands for grazing animals; by digging for water, they form lifelines for birds and smaller mammals; and by dispersing seeds over long distances, they help forests regenerate. Conserving elephants means conserving entire ecosystems—and the life they support. 🌱🐘
#CITESMIKE #DataForElephants #ElephantMonitoring #DataDrivenConservation #EuropeanUnion
🌍 Earth’s systems are built on interdependence—between species and ecosystems, people and nature, and economies that rely on sustainable, legal use of biodiversity. #Wildlife, the communities that depend on them, and global trade form a single continuum linking ecological, social, and economic well‑being. Across our planet, this interdependence is evident in CITES case studies on sustainable, well‑regulated use of wildlife.
🌎 In Mexico, the managed harvest of #candelilla, widely used in cosmetics, sustains thousands of households, with CITES requirements and strong government–community cooperation helping ensure the species continues to thrive.
🌏 In Nepal, community‑managed harvest of #jatamansi for perfumes, incense, and aromatherapy follows scientific assessments and management plans that support both wild population recovery and income in remote mountain regions.
🌎 In the United States, regulated harvest and export controls for American #ginseng, valued in traditional medicines, demonstrate how monitoring and legal trade frameworks can support local economies while maintaining healthy wild populations.
These examples show that sustainable, legal, and traceable harvest and trade can support livelihoods while allowing species to thrive. This International Mother #EarthDay, let us work together to maintain this balance for future generations.
📸 Jack Wander, Haiji Lu, Tyson Gregory / iNaturalist
