China and Vietnam have announced a new partnership which aims to protect wildlife while also preserving both countries' traditions in medicine. These two countries make up the largest markets for traditional medicine, which utilizes plant and animal ingredients.
As reported by Mongabay, the agreement is between the top traditional medicine associations from both countries: Vietnam Oriental Traditional Medicine Association and the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Traffic, an NGO that fights against illegal wildlife trade, facilitated this agreement with the help of other experts, including researchers and pharmaceutical executives.
Jessica Bell Rizzolo from the World Wildlife Fund said in a statement to Mongabay, "Traditional Chinese medicine has a sustainability problem. There's still a lot of animals included in the pharmacopeia."
Some ingredients from threatened and endangered species have included tiger bones, pangolin scales, bear bile, and rhino horns. It is still legal to trade many of these ingredients within China's borders, but hunting for them outside China and then selling them in the country is illegal.
Traffic Vietnam director Trinh Nguyen told Mongabay the partnership aims to encourage conversations about "sustainable practices to make traditional medicine more conservation-friendly."
China and Vietnam have agreed to share knowledge on cultivation programs, promoting safety and efficacy while transitioning to plant sources. Raising awareness about traditional medicine's role in conservation in the region will also be a priority
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In a statement shared with Traffic, Vietnam Oriental Traditional Medicine Association vice president Dr. Do The Loc said "This partnership marks a new chapter in traditional medicine — one that honors our ancestral wisdom while actively protecting the natural world that sustains it."
This policy joins other wildlife and environmental initiatives around the world, including enforcing a pause on kangaroo harvesting, reducing the use of toxic chemicals, and instating laws against gray wolf abuse.
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