Nagoya and Biodiversity Protocols and Protecting Indigenous Traditional Spiritual Practices

Gabon is home to Iboga and Bwiti traditions of initiation that have supported community health for centuries. Today, Iboga also offers relief to sufferers of PTSD and addiction disorders. In the few years of offering solace from afflictions of disconnection, the West has already dramatically reduced native Iboga Tabernanthe populations. The Gabonese government and local NGOs have partnered with traditional villagers to utilize the Nagoya protocols sharing traditional spiritual practices and rights to benefit global interests. How can mainstream society benefit while preserving community ancestral knowledge and conserving this powerful healing plant? How can the Nagoya Protocols and biodiversity protocols be used in other contexts?