International relations
World Wildlife Day and CITES
GS3 Environment and BiodiversityPrelims and Mains
- Why in news
- On 3 March 2026, PIB marked World Wildlife Day with the theme "Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Conserving Health, Heritage and Livelihoods", and described India's efforts to conserve medicinal plants.
- What it is
- CITES is an international agreement that regulates trade in listed wild animals and plants so that trade does not threaten their survival. World Wildlife Day, observed on 3 March, marks the date CITES was adopted. The United Nations proclaimed the day to raise awareness of wild fauna and flora.
- Date and link to CITES
- World Wildlife Day falls on 3 March and marks the adoption of CITES.
- Theme 2026
- The 2026 theme is medicinal and aromatic plants, covering health, heritage and livelihoods.
- Who proclaimed the day
- The United Nations proclaimed World Wildlife Day to celebrate wild fauna and flora.
- India's medicinal plant scheme
- The Central Sector Scheme on medicinal plants, run through NMPB under the Ministry of Ayush, has an outlay of ₹322.41 crore for 2021-22 to 2025-26.
- CITES nature
- CITES is a legally binding agreement for parties, adopted in 1973, with a Secretariat administered by UNEP. It lists species in Appendices I, II and III by level of protection.
Don’t confuse with In situ vs ex situ: In situ protects species in their natural habitats (parks, reserves, MPCAs). Ex situ protects them outside, such as in seed gene banks.
Don’t confuse with CITES vs CBD: CITES regulates international trade in listed species. The Convention on Biological Diversity covers conservation, sustainable use and benefit-sharing more broadly.
International bodies and relations: the largest group of news questions in Prelims (61 since 2013), often about background, members and location. In Mains, 27 news-triggered questions, mostly on India's interests.
Why it matters
- Links wildlife trade rules to health, livelihoods and traditional knowledge.
- Draws attention to medicinal plants, which are often overlooked in wildlife conservation.
Problems
- Habitat loss, overexploitation and illegal trade pressure wild medicinal plant populations.
- High-volume trade in many species makes sustainable harvesting hard to monitor.
Way forward
- Expand cultivation and community-based management to reduce pressure on wild stocks.
- Strengthen quality standards, traceability and fair benefit-sharing for local communities.
Put in your answer
Medicinal plant diversity: India has around 15,000 medicinal plant species, about 8,000 of them used in Indian medicine.
Domestic demand: Annual domestic demand for medicinal plants was estimated at about 5,12,000 metric tonnes in 2014-15.
In situ sites: There are 115 Medicinal Plants Conservation Area sites in India.
- 2026Mains GS3 · Q8Discuss Kunming-Montreal framework's goals and India's commitments and initiatives under it.
- 2018Mains GS3 · Q17How does biodiversity vary in India, and how does the Biological Diversity Act help conservation?
- 2015Prelims Q12Which statements on IUCN and CITES are correct, including CITES being legally binding?
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: CITES is a lasting international treaty topic, but the release gives few new testable facts. International bodies are 19% of news-linked Prelims questions.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.