World Wildlife Day is both a moment to celebrate wildlife and to remind ourselves why protecting nature matters to us all.
This year we're focusing on an important theme, medicinal and aromatic plants, conserving health, heritage and livelihoods.
Now around the world, medicinal and aromatic plants are essential to daily life. They support human health, they sustain traditional knowledge, and they are the very foundations of many modern medicines that you and I use for millions of people. They are also the first line of healthcare.
These plants also support livelihoods and local economies, as well as supporting biodiversity and stabilizing ecosystems and sustaining pollinators.
So essentially, they are critical contributors to daily healthy diets and packed with essential proteins, vitamins, and minerals. And yet, like so much of our natural world, many of these critical species are under threat.
Habitat loss, overharvesting, climate change and unsustainable trade are pushing these plants towards extinction.
That is why sustainable use is so important. Conservation, fair trade, and benefit sharing must go hand in hand with Indigenous people as well as with local communities at the center.
On this World Wildlife Day, we must all continue to raise awareness, to strengthen knowledge, and to support action that protects these plants for future generations.
Because when we conserve medicinal and aromatic plants, we're protecting nature's pharmacy and our shared future.