From Awareness to Action: The Illegal Plant Trade Coalition

The IPTC, led by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), was launched as a global, multi-stakeholder platform to strengthen collaboration, share intelligence, and catalyse action. It unites botanic gardens, conservation and research institutions, enforcement agencies, horticultural professionals, academics, and policy specialists to tackle illegal plant trade across the full value chain, from source to consumer. Its purpose is to connect the diverse expertise embedded within specialist groups, linking IUCN Red List of Threatened Species^TM and CITES, field knowledge, horticultural expertise, and emerging intelligence on illicit trade pathways and crime convergence.

Engagement at IUCN and Beyond

The illicit trade plant remains one of the least visible and most under-recognised threats to global biodiversity, undermining ecosystems, livelihoods, eroding local stewardship and climate resilience. From succulents and orchids to cycads, illegal harvesting and trade are driving species declines, undermining restoration efforts, and increasing biosecurity risks. Despite forming the foundation of ecosystems, plants receive far less attention, enforcement, and coordination than wildlife trafficking of fauna. In response, the IPTC is extending the conversation on illegal wildlife trade from fauna to include flora. 

Photo by Botanical Gardens Conservation International

The IUCN World Conservation Congress has provided an essential platform for highlighting that plants must no longer remain the “silent victims” of illegal trade. As pressures on ecosystems intensify, safeguarding plant diversity is inseparable from protecting animals, people, and climate stability.

The 2025 IUCN Congress marked a significant milestone for global plant conservation, and we thank our partners who worked hard to ensure that Motion 083, titled "Urgent action to prevent illegal succulent plant trade”, was adopted. This is a great step for IUCN toward recognising the illegal wildlife trade, which extends beyond fauna to include flora. This motion recognises the scale and urgency of illegal flora trafficking and calls for stronger measures across source, transit, and market countries.

Shortly after the IUCN World Conservation Congress, CITES COP20 in Samarkand highlighted growing concern about the illegal plant trade in Information Document 76, submitted by the UK on behalf of BGCI and referencing IUCN Motion 083 on succulents. Its visibility is significant, formally recognising challenges such as online trade, weak species identification, and data gaps, and strengthening the mandate for more coordinated international action, enforcement, and collaboration across conservation and regulatory bodies.

IUCN SSC discussions highlight that plant trade threats are often identified too late, after severe population declines. The IPTC prioritises prevention by using species data, Red List insights, and horticultural knowledge to anticipate risk rather than react to losses.

Looking Ahead

As the Coalition moves from establishment to delivery, it will focus on convening partners around thematic and regional priorities, developing collaborative projects, and strengthening links between research, policy, practice, science, and enforcement. Engagements with Action and Keystone Partners will shape a shared roadmap for impact.

At its core, the IPTC is a call to collective responsibility. By working across disciplines, sectors, and geographies, it helps ensure that plants are no longer overlooked in the fight against illegal trade and that conservation responses reflect the interconnectedness of ecosystems.

Looking ahead, the Coalition welcomes continued collaboration, shared learning, and renewed commitment from the IUCN community. Protecting plants is not a niche, but a fundamental to life on Earth.