By Musa Maridhawa
Deep within the forests of Elgeyo Marakwet, hidden among the undergrowth, grow remedies that have healed communities for centuries. Talk of leaves that soothe fevers, roots that calm troubled stomachs and barks that ease the pain of childbirth. These are the living heritage of a nation. They form the heart of this year’s World Wildlife Day commemoration.
On the 3rd of March, as the world commemorates the signing of the CITES convention Kenya joins the global community in celebrating World Wildlife Day under a theme that focuses on the silent pillars of biodiversity – “Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Conserving Health, Heritage and Livelihoods.”
The choice of Rimoi Primary School in Elgeyo Marakwet County as the venue for this year’s national celebrations is significant. Here, among young learners who will inherit the responsibility of stewardship of our conservation efforts as a nation, the message resonates with particular clarity. Conservation, after all, is not merely the preserve of scientists and policymakers. It is a lesson to be absorbed from childhood and a value to be carried through life.
Kenya possesses extraordinary botanical wealth. From the misty slopes of Mount Kenya to the coastal forests, from the wetlands to the savannahs, Kenya harbours thousands of plant species with medicinal and aromatic properties. These are not only abstract components of biodiversity but also more crucially the raw materials of healthcare for millions who rely on traditional medicine as their first line of treatment. They are also the source of income for families engaged in sustainable harvesting and trade. Besides, they are the threads that bind cultural identity across generations.
Yet this natural pharmacy faces existential threats. Habitat loss proceeds apace as forests give way to agriculture and settlement. Climate change alters the conditions upon which these delicate species depend. Unsustainable harvesting, driven by growing demand, depletes wild populations before they can regenerate. Yes, the silent extinction of plant species attracts less attention than the plight of charismatic animals, but its consequences are no less profound. When a plant disappears, so too does the knowledge of its uses, the cultural practices surrounding it, and the ecosystem services it provides.
The Government of Kenya has signalled its commitment through policy reforms, enforcement of conservation laws, and support for international agreements including CITES and the Global Biodiversity Framework. However, legislation alone cannot secure the future of medicinal plants. That task falls to communities themselves.
In Elgeyo Marakwet and beyond, indigenous knowledge remains remarkably intact. Grandmothers still know which roots to dig and at what phase of the moon. Herbalists still understand the precise combinations that cure particular ailments. This wisdom, accumulated over generations, is itself a resource requiring protection. When young people lose connection with their botanical heritage, they lose more than information. In fact, they lose part of their identity.
The theme of this year’s World Wildlife Day reminds us that conservation and livelihoods should not stand in opposition. Sustainable harvesting, community-based cultivation, and equitable benefit-sharing can create economic opportunities while preserving biodiversity. The herbal trade, properly regulated and managed, can lift families from poverty while ensuring that wild populations endure.
As the children of Rimoi Primary School plant trees and learn the names of medicinal plants today, they will be participating in something larger than a ceremony. They will become custodians of a legacy that stretches back millennia and forward into an uncertain future. The plants they protect today may cure diseases not yet encountered. The knowledge they preserve may prove indispensable to grandchildren they have not yet begot.
World Wildlife Day 2026 calls upon Kenya to recognise that our natural heritage encompasses not only elephants and rhinos, but also the herbs of the forest floor. In protecting them, we protect ourselves. In preserving their secrets, we preserve our own humanity.
Maridhawa is a Kilifi-based ethnographer.
