TRAFFIC, the world's largest wildlife trade monitoring network, is reporting that rare plants in Cambodia and Vietnam are at risk because of the rise in popularity of traditional medicine.

The reports determine that illegal wildlife trade, including entire tiger skeletons, and unsustainable harvesting is depleting the region's rich and varied biodiversity and putting the primary healthcare resource of millions at risk.

The results of field studies carried out between 2005 and 2007 found that a significant number of Cambodians and Vietnamese rely on traditional medicine.

Relaxation of international trade barriers, the impact of free market economies and complex national government policies have led to an increase in the demand and supply for flora and fauna used in traditional medicine.

The growing illegal wildlife trade in the region is fuelled by the difficulty of sourcing prescribed ingredients, including parts, from globally threatened species.

"The supply of many wild animals and plants for medicine in Cambodia and Vietnam is becoming scarce due to overexploitation," said Crawford Allan, TRAFFIC's director in North America. "Some of the trade is illegal and threatening endangered species," he added.

According to Allan, "In Vietnam, we estimate between 5-10 tiger skeletons are sold annually to be used in traditional medicine. With each skeleton fetching approximately 20,000 dollars, there is a strong incentive to poach and trade tigers that we must address from the grassroots up."