World Wildlife Day 2026

• World Wildlife Day (WWD) is a UN-designated observance on 3 March marking the 1973 adoption of CITES; the 2026 theme is "Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs): Conserving Health, Heritage and Livelihoods".
• Pivots wildlife conservation discourse from charismatic fauna to plant resources, directly relevant to India as a mega-biodiverse country and the world's largest user of traditional medicine systems (AYUSH).
• High-yield overlap for UPSC: GS-III (biodiversity, conservation), GS-II (international conventions), GS-I (cultural heritage of traditional medicine).