Dragon’s blood trees face extinction in their only home on Earth

Dragon’s blood trees, known for their unique umbrella-like shape and crimson resin, are native only to Socotra Island, Yemen. These ancient and rare trees are now at serious risk of extinction due to climate change, overgrazing, and habitat destruction. Their limited habitat and slow growth make recovery difficult. Conservationists warn that urgent action is needed to preserve this iconic species, which plays a vital role in the island’s ecosystem and cultural heritage.

High above the Arabian Sea on a breezy plateau, Sena Keybani holds a tiny sapling that barely brushes her ankle. The small tree, shielded by a rough fence made of wood and wire, is a dragon’s blood tree, a rare species found only on Yemen’s Socotra Island that now faces growing threats from climate shifts.

“Watching them perish feels like losing a child,” said Keybani, whose family operates a nursery to help save the tree. These trees are famous for their unique, mushroom-like canopies and deep red resin, once common across the island. But frequent powerful storms, damage from non-native goats, and Yemen’s ongoing conflict, in one of the poorest countries globally, are pushing the species and its ecosystem to the brink. Socotra, often likened to the Galapagos for its unique flora and fauna, lies 240 kilometers off Africa’s coast in isolation.

The island hosts 825 plant species, with over a third found nowhere else, which led to its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Among these are bottle trees that rise like stone carvings and the ancient frankincense trees with limbs that twist skyward. Yet the dragon’s blood tree stands out, its bizarre form evoking illustrations from fantasy books more than any earthly forest. About 5,000 visitors come each year, many drawn by the dreamlike forests of this iconic tree. Tourists must hire local guides and stay in community-run camps to keep tourism income on the island.

If the dragon’s blood trees vanish, the tourism sector that supports many locals could also disappear. “Thanks to tourism, our living standards are better than those on the mainland,” said Mubarak Kopi, the island’s tourism chief. However, the tree is more than a tourist attraction, it’s essential to Socotra’s survival. Its wide canopy traps mist and rain, guiding water to the roots and nourishing surrounding vegetation in the dry landscape. “Losing these trees means losing the soil, water, and life around them,” said Kay Van Damme, a Belgian biologist with decades of experience on the island.

Without action, scientists fear these trees and the species that depend on them could vanish in a few hundred years. “Humans have already devastated ecosystems on many islands,” Van Damme said. “But Socotra still has a chance, if we act now.”

Rising cyclone intensity uproots ancient trees

On the vast Firmihin plateau, Socotra’s biggest remaining dragon’s blood forest stretches beneath jagged peaks. Tall, thin trunks support the tree’s signature canopies while native birds and scavengers weave through the area, and goats graze below. According to a 2017 Nature Climate Change study, severe storms in the Arabian Sea have grown much more frequent in recent years, and the trees are suffering. In 2015, two back-to-back cyclones struck with unprecedented force, destroying countless trees, some over 500 years old. Another major storm hit again in 2018, continuing the devastation. Hiroyuki Murakami, a NOAA climate expert and the study’s lead author, said climate models worldwide predict stronger tropical storms as emissions rise.

Goats pose another major threat

Storms aren’t the only danger. Unlike fast-growing species like pines or oaks, dragon’s blood trees grow just a few centimeters a year. Because of this slow growth, many saplings are eaten before they mature, mainly by invasive goats roaming freely. Outside of remote cliffs, these young trees can only thrive in fenced nurseries. “Most forests we’ve studied have no young trees or seedlings, they’re aging out with no replacements,” said Alan Forrest from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. This means old trees are dying off with little new growth to take their place. Nurseries like the one Keybani’s family runs are crucial for allowing young trees to grow in peace, away from goats. Inside these protected areas, the tree populations are healthier and better prepared to withstand climate stress, said Forrest.

Civil war complicates conservation efforts

Yemen’s prolonged conflict adds another challenge to saving the trees. As the government, backed by Saudi Arabia, fights Houthi rebels supported by Iran, the violence has spilled into neighboring areas. Houthi strikes in the Red Sea and on Israel have drawn retaliation, worsening regional instability. “The Yemeni government has more urgent issues right now,” said Abdulrahman Al-Eryani, an advisor at Gulf State Analytics in Washington. Their main concern is maintaining basic services like power and water, climate action is seen as a luxury.

With little help from the national government, locals are left to lead the conservation work, though their resources are limited. Ecotourism guide Sami Mubarak points to the flimsy fence around the Keybani nursery, held together by thin wire and weathered posts. These makeshift barriers only last a few years before the elements destroy them. He believes more durable fences made with cement posts would significantly improve their efforts. “There are only a few small-scale projects right now, not enough,” he said. “We need both local leaders and Yemen’s government to treat conservation as a real priority.”

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Source: CNN‍