聯合國瀕臨絕種生物貿易管理會(U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES)本週正於肯亞(Kenya)奈洛比市(Nairobi)召開大會。美國代表團在會中表示，人們對草藥的喜愛，特別是西方國家，已威脅到數種珍貴野生植物的生存。
市場對草藥的大量需求威脅到這些品種，目前CITES節制列管至少14種植物貿易，另考慮將包括亞洲蔘(Asian ginseng)在內的其他六種列入管制。
每年有多達600公斤的亞洲蔘從俄羅斯(Russia)走私出境，該國是亞洲蔘少數幾個生長點之一。非法採集花旗蔘(North American gindrng)也是個問題。在美國田納西州及北卡羅來那州的大霧山國家公園(Great Smokey Mountians National Park)境內，健康的野生人蔘近來就被盜採者採集一空。
The growing popularity of herbal medicine, particularly in Western countries, is threatening the survival of a number of valuable wild plants, according to delegates to the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, this week. Trade in at least 14 plants is already regulated because demand for herbal medicine is putting pressure on the species, and another six, including Asian ginseng, are being considered for regulation. Up to 600 kilograms of Asian ginseng are smuggled each year out of Russia, one of the few places where the plant grows. Illegal gathering of North American ginseng is also a problem. Poachers recently cleaned out all the healthy wild ginseng populations in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina.
※ 資料來源：路透社 、Grist Magazine
