New paper on the role of wild plants in health treatment and sustainability of trade

Cambridge, UK, 7th April 2020, World Health Day - TRAFFIC, one of FairWild’s partners, today released a short paper on the role of wild plants in health treatment and why sustainability of their trade matters.

“With a strong global spotlight on wild animal markets as a likely source of the COVID-19 epidemic, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the biggest flows of “wildlife” in trade involve plants, not animals. There are also important conservation and health reasons to be keeping a close eye on the wild plant trade sector during this global health emergency.

With the COVID-19 outbreak, the use of wild plants as herbal ingredients in the formulations for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), as well as other herbal-based products around the world, is anticipated to increase dramatically.”

The paper examines what is known about the use of herbal ingredients in TCM in addressing the COVID-19 disease so far, and what safeguards can be put in place moving on to ensure that these and other wild plant resources are available in the long-term to support healthcare.

Read the full report on TRAFFIC’s website.