29 September 2010: At a workshop on the conservation and sustainable use of the saiga antelope, representatives of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) industry, which uses saiga horn in several medical products, confirmed their willingness to participate in the restoration of wild saiga populations.

The objective of the workshop, convened by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Management Authority of China and the Secretariats of CITES and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, from 27-29 September 2010, was to strengthen international cooperation among consumer and range States and to provide a platform for discussion between those managing in situ orex situ conservation activities and the Asian traditional medicine industry. The idea of sharing conservation efforts between consumer and range States is reflected in Decisions adopted at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (COP 15, Doha, 2010) and has been envisaged since 2006 under the CMS Memorandum of Understanding on the Saiga Antelope. [CITES Press Release]