09/05/2026
IBOGAINE: Science Without Conscience Is Nothing but the Ruin of the Soul
Maître MOUBEYI-BOUALE
On April 18, 2026, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order authorizing funding for research on ibogaine, a molecule derived from iboga.
This decision marks a crucial turning point in the history of the global psychedelic movement.
It opens immense prospects in the field of public health, particularly in response to the opioid crisis and treatment-resistant psychiatric disorders.
But it also raises an essential question: who truly benefits from this revolution?
Certainly, this is an undeniable scientific breakthrough, but for us its roots lie elsewhere.
Ibogaine is not a recent invention. It comes from iboga, a plant endemic to Gabon, which lies at the heart of several initiation rites and has been known and used for centuries within traditional medicine by local communities.
At the core of Bwete, it is far more than an active compound; it is a vehicle for knowledge, healing, and transmission.
Today, modern science confirms what ancestral knowledge had already established.
Ibogaine Research: A Strategic Opportunity for Gabon?
The international recognition of ibogaine opens considerable potential in several areas, particularly medical, scientific, and economic.
However, without a structured framework, this dynamic could lead to the marginalization of Gabon within a value chain that it nevertheless initiated.
It is precisely to prevent this risk that Gabon ratified the Nagoya Protocol in 2011, based on:
* prior informed consent;
* fair and equitable benefit-sharing;
* recognition of traditional knowledge.
As early as 2019, Mr. Guy Bertrand MAPANGOU, then Minister of Water and Forests, committed himself by introducing and securing the adoption of a conservation order prohibiting the export of iboga originating from Gabon’s public domain, except under special authorization from the Minister of Water and Forests following technical advice from local focal points linked to the protocol.
He reaffirmed this position in an opinion piece published in the national newspaper L’Union on April 25 and 26, 2026.
In order to fill a persistent legal vacuum surrounding the iboga plant, which leaves room for all kinds of speculation, the Government of the Republic announced during its Council of Ministers meeting on April 30, 2026, a draft decree regulating access to, use of, exploitation of, research on, transformation of, and commercialization of iboga, its derivatives, and associated traditional knowledge.
For its part, Maghanga Ma Nzambe, supported in Gabon by Blessings of the Forest Gabon (BOTFG) and in the United States by the Indigenous Medicine Conservation Fund (IMCF), has already had several opportunities to express its position, notably during international meetings in Denver and Aspen, as well as through exchanges with various stakeholders, including Americans for Ibogaine, which strongly supported the presidential executive order signed on April 18, 2026.
Our positions are based on constant principles that are rooted neither in opportunism nor in circumstantial claims, but in law and ethics.
A DISAPPOINTMENT THAT CALLS FOR CLARIFICATION
It is precisely in light of this commitment that Maghanga Ma Nzambe today expresses a genuine yet measured disappointment.
Indeed, after responding to invitations, consistently and thoughtfully sharing its position, and contributing to international discussions, it observed that the decree in question insufficiently considered the viewpoints that had been expressed.
This situation raises questions.
First, it raises questions about the method itself:
Can one invite dialogue, gather substantial contributions, and then move forward without reflecting their spirit in the initiatives implemented?
It also raises questions about the clarity of the processes undertaken: the absence of a clearly shared framework and the progression through successive initiatives, without the full and complete involvement of legitimate stakeholders, create a form of ambiguity harmful to trust.
Finally, it raises questions about the respect owed to communities which, far from being peripheral actors, are at the very heart of the origin and understanding of this resource.
These observations are neither personal attacks nor expressions of opposition.
They reflect a demand for consistency between stated intentions and observed practices.
AN ESSENTIAL LEGAL AND ETHICAL FOUNDATION
As a reminder, the Nagoya Protocol establishes a clear framework: access to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge is based on prior informed consent and fair and equitable benefit-sharing.
The letter and spirit of this text also imply the necessity of integrating respect for ethics and reciprocity into knowledge-sharing and scientific research concerning ibogaine and associated traditional knowledge.
These principles are not secondary. They constitute the foundation of balanced cooperation.
In this spirit, Maghanga Ma Nzambe and its partners reaffirm simple and constructive orientations:
1. Fully involve legitimate stakeholders
Any initiative related to iboga and its derivatives must include representatives of the concerned communities from the very beginning of its development.
2. Clarify operational frameworks
Scientific, economic, and political initiatives must be conducted within transparent, understandable, and shared frameworks.
3. Guarantee prior consent
No use should be considered without the formal agreement of the relevant authorities and communities.
4. Organize fair benefit-sharing
The benefits generated must concretely benefit the communities that safeguard the resource and the associated knowledge.
5. Build a structured national sector
The development of an iboga economy in Gabon constitutes an essential condition for sovereignty and balance.
A REQUIREMENT FOR RESPECT AND RECIPROCITY
International initiatives, including those led by Americans for Ibogaine and its partners, address real issues and deserve to be heard.
But cooperation can only be sustainable if it rests on genuine recognition of those who agreed to contribute.
Extending a hand should, in return, be met with equal consideration.
From all the above, it must be understood that Gabon is not opposed to scientific progress. Rather, it calls for progress grounded in fairness.
Iboga and ibogaine are not merely medical or economic issues.
They involve a history, a culture, and a responsibility.
Iboga is the soul of an entire people, who embrace the maxim of François Rabelais:
“Science without conscience is nothing but the ruin of the soul.”
Gabon does not wish to lose its own soul, and respect remains the primary condition for any genuine cooperation.
National Director of Maghanga Ma Nzambe officiel.
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