Mongabay · Climate & nature

Gabon Seeks Fairer Share of Global Ibogaine Boom

Gabon enacted a decree for benefit sharing from iboga use, aiming to capture more global market value, but implementation details are pending.

Gabon's decree mandates benefit sharing for iboga's commercial use, but distribution mechanisms are still being built. A community earned $50,000 from legal shipments, yet downstream value shares are unpaid.

The decree covers ibogaine and synthetic analogs, but international enforcement is unclear. Gabon halted all iboga exports in September to develop a new national framework.

Iboga is native to West-Central Africa and is the source of ibogaine, studied for addiction treatment. A significant value gap exists between bark prices and high treatment costs abroad.

U.S. interest in ibogaine is growing, with research funding and studies on veterans. However, it remains a Schedule I drug, with most commercial treatment occurring offshore.

Gabon, a party to the Nagoya Protocol, seeks fair benefit sharing, unlike historical precedents where source communities received little value.

A community sold iboga bark for $50,000, with contracts for downstream value sharing. This has not yet materialized, with funds held pending government guidance.

Growing demand pressures wild iboga stocks. Gabon's decree aims for sovereignty and a fund for sector benefits, but implementation is ongoing, and exports are currently banned.

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