Traditional medicine News

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A hooded vulture. Image by Mibby23 via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).

Hope for vultures in Nigeria as some belief-based users adopt plant alternatives

Sean Mowbray 24 Jun 2026

Global pressure on ayahuasca threatens Amazonian plants and knowledge systems

Carlos Minuano 23 Jun 2026
A West African seahorse (Hippocampus algiris) is a vulnerable species found in West Africa

Four alleged wildlife traffickers arrested in Guinea, dried seahorses and shark fins seized

Spoorthy Raman 10 Jun 2026
An orange-footed sea cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa). Image courtesy of Sara Jobson/Mercier Lab.

Global trade in sea cucumbers ‘alarming’ with many species at risk: Study

Edward Carver 30 Apr 2026
Black rhinos are critically endangered.

Chinese court cases reveal most trafficked rhino horns come from Southern Africa

Spoorthy Raman 21 Apr 2026
This plant is classified as a halophyte, or capable of surviving in high-salinity environments. Image by Vengolis via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

In Indonesia, a coastal vine used as medicine now signals ecological decline

Christopel Paino 9 Apr 2026
A forest elephant near Ngounié, Gabon. Image by marcusgmeiner via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0)

A Congo Basin-led bioeconomy could boost Central Africa’s green transition (analysis)

Metolo Foyet 6 Apr 2026
Pangolins are one of the most in-demand wildlife in Asia, used in traditional chinese medicine preparations. After Chinese pangolins plummeted by about 90% in the 2000s, traffickers shifted to African species.

Asia now hub of growing illegal wildlife trade across 100+ countries, study shows

Spoorthy Raman 30 Mar 2026
a newly hatched Rote Island snake-necked turtles (Chelodina mccordi) at the turtle survival center in South Carolina USA. Photo by Liz Kimbrough

The Turtle Bank: The last of these Asian turtle species find refuge in the Carolina pines

Liz Kimbrough 28 Jan 2026

Protecting pangolins IRL, not just on paper: Interview with conservationist Kumar Paudel

Abhaya Raj Joshi 24 Nov 2025
Tropical forest and river in Suriname. Image courtesy of Mark J. Plotkin.

Top ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin’s COP30 reflections on Amazon conservation (analysis)

Mark J. Plotkin 17 Nov 2025

The uncertain future of DRC’s traditional medicine, a heritage to save (commentary)

Blaise Kasereka Makuta 6 Nov 2025
Noraeri Thungmueangthong is a village leader in Huay Ee Khang village in northern Thailand.

Forest sanctuaries and spiritual balance in the Karen highlands of Thailand

Carolyn Cowan 22 Oct 2025
White-bellied pangolin on a tree.

In southeast Nigeria, pangolins hunted for meat, not scales, study finds

Spoorthy Raman 10 Sep 2025
Ampalaya, or bitter gourd (Momordica charantia)

Filipino communities use vast variety of endemic plants for health: Study

Keith Anthony Fabro 12 Aug 2025
Thai authorities seized more than 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of ivory hidden in luggage shipped out from Congo to Laos via Bangkok in 2015.

Large-scale illegal wildlife shops in Laos found scamming Chinese tourists

Mongabay.com 22 Jul 2025
Pangolins curl into a ball as part of their self-defense, with scales acting as armor to protect their body. The WJC report estimates that the 370 tons of pangolin scales seized between 2015 and 2024 represent between 100,000 and a million pangolins.

The illegal trade in ivory and pangolin scales has fallen sharply since COVID-19. But for how long?

Rhett Ayers Butler 26 Jun 2025
A mimic poison frog (Ranitomeya imitator).

EU remains major wildlife trafficking hub, report finds

Keith Anthony Fabro 23 Jun 2025

China drops pangolin formulas from approved TCM list, but concerns remain

Keith Anthony Fabro 16 May 2025
Banner image of the rescued bears, courtesy of Free the Bears.

Three moon bears rescued in first closure of Laos bile farm

Kristine Sabillo 22 Apr 2025
Raffles' banded langur

Action plan aims to save Asia’s leaf-eating monkeys amid ‘alarming’ declines

Carolyn Cowan 15 Apr 2025
A tokay gecko in Indonesia. Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of these geckos, with more than 8 million harvest quotas issued in 2022.

Amid fuzzy data, scientists urge monitoring of Hong Kong’s tokay gecko trade

Spoorthy Raman 3 Apr 2025
Western lowland gorilla.

‘Some people will die’: Conversations with Nigeria’s gorilla hunters

Orji Sunday 27 Feb 2025

Vietnam and China partner on wildlife-friendly traditional medicine practices

Spoorthy Raman 6 Feb 2025

Vietnam grapples with ‘alarming popularity’ of online illegal wildlife trade

Carolyn Cowan 27 Jan 2025
Philippine pangolin mother and baby.

China’s new pangolin quota for TCM sparks conservation concerns

Keith Anthony Fabro 24 Jan 2025
Carteret islanders on a canoe. Image credit: Friends of the Earth.

In a Noah’s Ark move, PNG migrants bring thousands of trees to safer ground

Thibault Le Pivain 21 Nov 2024
Santa Marta's traditional medicine doctors Mauricio Martínez, Elicia Martínez and Viviana Montero stand among a plot of land containing curative plants.

The Panamanian shamans working to save their ancestral medicinal plants

Adam D. Williams 22 Oct 2024
Two young gorillas play in Gabon. Experts say humans' and gorillas' shared used of medicinal plants highlights the interconnectedness between humans and other apes. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

Indigenous knowledge proves key in a study of plants gorillas use to self-medicate

Charles Mpaka 3 Oct 2024
argeting demand for rhino horn-based products must complement efforts to protect rhinos from poaching. Image by Geranimo via Unsplash.

As a medicine, study finds rhino horn useless — and potentially toxic

Juliette Portala 3 Sep 2024
From left: Florinda Zurdo, Silvia Salina and Patricia Mendoza stand in a plot of land near ASASTRAN’s site in Lajero where traditional medicine is cultivated.

Indigenous midwives in Panama strive to preserve traditional medicine for maternal health

Adam D. Williams 25 Jul 2024
Dendrobium longicornu orchid flower.

It’s tough to be a wild orchid: Interview with conservation biologist Reshu Bashyal

Abhaya Raj Joshi 26 Apr 2024

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