Vision

Short-term vision:

  • Identification of Gabonese associations who wish to develop agroforestry and permaculture projects focussing on the conservation of Iboga and "useful plants” of Gabon (Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) with significant food, cosmetic and therapeutic potential, as well as dwindling large trees), giving priority to those which are managing the Gabonese community forests.
  • Set up a collaboration agreement between BOTF Gabon and Gabonese authorities concerned with the proper management of NTFPs within the Gabonese republic (Ministry of Forestry and the Environment, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Ministry of Health, Ministry of the Economy and Trade, Ministry of Tourism and Industry, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Culture and the Arts)
  • Funding the planting of NTFPs including Iboga.
  • Promotion of the ways and means to resolve main/wildlife conflicts around the village plantations.
  • Raise international public awareness of the impact of the growing global interest in Iboga(ine) on the traditional Gabonese communities as well as on Gabon’s flora and fauna.
  • Provide legal expertise, in partnership with all the Gabonese institutions and international organisations that are involved in the sustainable and equitable management of the Gabonese forest sector and the protection of the biodiversity and cultural heritage, on the ways to regulate agriculture, the commercialisation and the therapeutic use of Iboga and its chemical constituents.
  • Organisation of technical and financial support for Gabonese authorities and associations responsible for the application of existing and upcoming legislation, with regards to Iboga and the proper management of community forests.
  • Classification of Iboga on CITES list III (Convention on international trade of species of wild flora and fauna under threat of extinction) or on the yellow/orange list of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature).
  • Fight againstunfair, illegal and unsustainable exploitation of Iboga and other animal or vegetable forest heritages.
  • Look for international scientific partners and sources of financing with a view to creating a botanical inventory of Iboga in Gabon and extensive studies of its ideal ecosystem (soil and climate conditions, pollination, relationships with neighbouring flora and fauna).
  • Mediation between identified international partners and the Gabonese Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Scientific Research within the context of establishing cooperation agreements.
  • Publication of a “review of Iboga in Gabon and abroad” v2.0.

Medium to long-term vision:

  • In collaboration with traditional practitioners, compiling and exchange of information on the best practices that are an integral part of traditional culture and use of Iboga as well as other medicinal plants within the territory of Gabon.
  • Collection of seeds of each species of Iboga with a view to creating a seedbank for the planting projects in Gabon, then, under strict conditions, abroad.
  • Development of a partnership between "modern medicine" and "traditional medicine", between university researchers, national/international scientists, therapists using Iboga and its derivatives throughout the world and the traditional Gabonese communities in order to consolidate clinical data on individuals being treated with Iboga(ine).
  • Organisation of a national conference and then an international conference on the topic of Iboga.
  • Development/Promotion of multi-sectorial tourist routes (ecological, cultural and scientific) to a national and international audience wishing to discover the unique characteristics of Gabon, associated with a harmonious life in the equatorial forests of Central Africa.
  • Development/Promotion of traditional Gabonese crafts.
  • Creation of an agricultural cooperative covering the nine provinces of Gabon and monitoring the best practices In the field of sustainable Agroforestry followed by the development of an ”organic fairtrade”label.
  • National and international promotion of labelled Non-Timber Forest Products from village associations that are partners of Blessings Of The Forest.

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Our organisation has been set up to preserve, research and share knowledge about the medicinal plants and indigenous traditions of the Gabonese forest people for the benefit of all of humanity.

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