The Sacred Plant Biocultural Recovery Initiative: An Interview with Gary Paul Nabhan

Gary Paul Nabhan is a renowned ethnobotanist and author focused on the confluence of cultural and biological diversity. His innovative writings and projects have raised awareness of the economic and social benefits, as well as the culinary pleasures, of local food. He currently serves as Chair in Southwest Borderlands Food and Water Security at the University of Arizona.

Author of more than thirty books, including the upcoming Against the American Grain: A Borderlands History of Resistance, Nabhan recently launched his latest project: The Sacred Plant Biocultural Recovery Initiative. Sacred plants used in spiritual traditions all over the world are at risk from warfare, climate change and overharvesting. The mission of the multicultural, interfaith, intertribal Sacred Plant Biocultural Recovery Initiative is to safeguard, restore and “rematriate” these sacred and ceremonial plants. Arty Mangan, Director of Restorative Food Systems for Bioneers, recently spoke with Nabhan about how he came to this project, what makes a plant “sacred”, and the prospects for conservation and restoration for sacred plants around the world.

Read the full interview here.