A Special TCM Conference & Wildlife Conservation

I love to travel, especially internationally. Usually, I share about the TCM-related places I visit or my meetings with manufacturers and herb farmers, but this trip was for an important conference, supporting an international cause that I am passionate about.

This past May I was in Hong Kong for the 4th Conference for Wildlife Protection in Traditional Medicine. This event was co-hosted by the Coalition for Wildlife Protection in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the University of Hong Kong School of Chinese Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, and ADM Capital Foundation. I currently serve on the Coalition’s Steering Committee, which was launched in 2024 with a shared commitment to protect endangered species while preserving the integrity and future of TCM. It’s made up of practitioners, educators, businesses, and other organizations that believe the use of endangered wildlife products does not reflect the core principles of TCM, which emphasize harmony between humans and nature. Together we work to promote a coordinated international effort to move the profession toward more sustainable and environmentally responsible practices.

We have made some headway with our efforts and have organized both U.S. and international conferences. This year’s event, held on the University of Hong Kong (HKU) campus, attracted nearly 250 participants, bringing together top scholars, government officials, and representatives from the Chinese medicine sector across Mainland China, Hong Kong, the United States, the Netherlands, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Past conferences have helped strengthen an international network of practitioners committed to ethical medicine and environmental stewardship. The 4th Conference aimed to build upon this momentum and bring it to Hong Kong. Distinguished speakers included researchers dedicated to finding substitutes for endangered wildlife ingredients such as tiger bone, bear bile, and pangolin—ingredients banned in the U.S. but still being used in other parts of the world legally and illegally. There was a panel discussion with industry and practitioners from different countries that I moderated along with Lixin Huang, the former President of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM), who is one of the founders of the Coalition. The discussion centered around the challenges of removing endangered wildlife from clinical practice and dissuading their use by the general public. The Coalition also proudly announced the recipients of its’ first two small research grants to researchers from the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Vietnam.  This research will focus on sourcing plant-based alternatives to medicinal materials from endangered species.

It was a wonderful conference that fostered a strong sense of shared purpose and encouraged much dialogue. Participants reaffirmed that the future of traditional Chinese medicine depends on aligning ancient healing wisdom with modern conservation values. By promoting wildlife-free practices, the Coalition is helping to protect vulnerable species while safeguarding the global reputation and long-term sustainability of TCM itself. To learn more, please see Wildlife Protection in TCM and I invite you to join us!

While in Hong Kong, I also visited Ko Shing Steet in Sheung Wan district, the local herb wholesale market. Dating back to the early 19th century, when pioneering Chinese merchants established their bustling markets in the area, this small thoroughfare has remained a hub for the procuring and distributing of traditional medicinal herbs and ingredients. Decades-old wholesale shops line both sides of the street, offering all manner of traditional herbal medicine ingredients and products. In 2000, the Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Association promoted this area as cultural landmarks within the district: Ko Shing Street was designated “Herbal Medicine Street”, Bonham West Street and Wing Lok Street each became “Ginseng and Bird's Nest Street, and Des Voeux Road West was “Dried Seafood Street”. Each street has many shops that sell expensive Chinese herbs such as ginseng, but also animals considered traditional Chinese medicine and/or delicacies. Having just attended a wildlife protection conference, it was a bit startling to see that a very large portion of what was displayed in shop windows were endangered, threatened, or vulnerable species such as shark fin, Swiftlets’ nest (aka bird’s nest), Totoatoba swim bladders (aka fish maw), Sea Cucumbers, and Skates and Rays. Perhaps because it was a Tuesday morning there wasn’t much commerce taking place, but I have no doubt that locals and mostly Asian tourists will flock to the area to buy these costly delicacies. Hong Kong being an international trading hub and knowing that this area mostly conducts wholesale business, it is clear that a lot of exporting is going on in order to sustain the hundreds of shops in the neighborhood.

This experience made me reflect on how crucial the Coalition’s work is, and the fact that more education and a closer examination of inequality is needed. Generally, there is a tension between preserving biodiversity and communities who rely on wildlife as sources for both food and livelihood. Focusing on biodiversity makes production systems and livelihoods more resilient to shocks and stresses, including those caused by climate change. However, with sometimes severe economic inequality and the reduction or cessation of aid programs like USAID, people from poorer countries are even more reliant on the natural resources around them, leading to further depletion and perhaps disrupting the balance of nature in their community. Depending on where they are, people may have noticed dwindling stocks but may be unaware of the impact on other species and the environment. Just this week the Hong Kong government reported that it had seized two shipping containers of shark fins from South America that contained the fins of approximately 38,000 protected sharks. It’s difficult to imagine the scale of the impact immediately and in the future on the biodiversity of a region when 38,000 predators disappear from an ecosystem. This cargo happened to contain fins from less desirable sharks, and the Hong Kong government estimated the seized fins to be worth a little over $1 million US dollars. It would have been worth many times more if the fins had been from the more endangered sharks, which can cost hundreds of dollars per pound. The economic realities of the fishermen and processors in South America also shouldn’t be ignored, even as the trade is controlled by drug cartels.

Throughout my time in the Coalition, I have also learned about the real power of beliefs and inequalities of access to medical care driving at least some of the use of endangered species and allowing some to ignore or remain ignorant of species exploitation. All these factors contribute to the problem, so solutions will be found by education remaining a top priority.

One very important tool for education used by the Coalition and conservation organizations worldwide is the IUCN Red List. Established in 1964, The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species™ has evolved into the world’s most comprehensive information source and inventory of the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species. The IUCN Red List is a critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity. Far more than a list of species and their status, it is a powerful tool to inform and catalyze action for biodiversity conservation and policy change, critical to protecting the natural resources we need to survive. To learn more, visit www.iucnredlist.org.

My greatest pleasure when it comes to travel is the opportunity to learn, whether about art, culture, history or nature, and this trip was extra enjoyable because it led to some deep reflection as well as many interesting conversations and observations. I encourage you to engage your curiosity and never stop exploring!