World Wildlife Day is marked on March 3 to raise awareness for the planet’s wild animals and plants.
World Wildlife Day was first introduced to our calendars by the United Nations in 2013.

The theme for World Wildlife Day 2016 is “The future of wildlife is in our hands”.

The Theme focuses on declining numbers of African and Asian elephants whose populations are dwindling due to a loss of habitat, overgrazing and illegal poaching.

World Wildlife Day is an opportunity to celebrate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora and to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that conservation provides to people. With 182 Member States, CITES remains one of the world’s most powerful tools for biodiversity conservation through the regulation of trade in wild fauna and flora.

CITES – Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

According to the CITES, the killing of African elephants and trafficking in their ivory remain alarmingly high. Asian elephants are also subject to growing levels of poaching. An estimate shows that about 100,000 elephants were slaughtered for their ivory between 2010 and 2012.

IUCN is also engaged in field-based projects addressing illegal trade, including SOS (Save Our Species) and the Integrated Tiger and Habitat Conservation Programme (ITHCP).