Sitting out of the horn of Africa, Yemení de Socotra is largely left to its own devices for centuries, its few guests who came to trade with aromatic incense, the aloe of the healing plant and the crimson sap of the dragon’s blood tree, used for dyes.
Approximately the size of Long Island in New York, Socotra is about 140 miles from the coast of Somalia, a remote place that has allowed a unique ecosystem to flourish. It has a rich variety of birds and animal life, and coral reefs of its coasts full of colorful marine life. A third of its 825 species of plants cannot be found anywhere else on Earth, According to UNESCO.
Some, including the conservationist Kay Van Damme, have called Galapagos of the Indian Ocean and, together with other experts, warns that millions of years of evolution in Socotra could be under a “serious threat.”
“Climate change is, with much, the greatest threat to the biodiversity of the island,” said Van Damme, who has worked in Socotra for more than two decades, NBC News in a call last month. “It is a relatively small island with a predominantly arid climate. Even the small additional impacts of climate change can have a huge effect, exerting more pressure on fragile ecosystems.”
Prolonged droughts caused by climate change are aggravating the damage of devastating cyclones in 2015 and 2018 that destroyed the reefs, eroded soil and rare plants uprooted.
The vital blood of the island, the endemic species of incense trees, are also under threat. Four of the 11 species recognized on the island were classified as critical danger by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in March.
Five were recognized as in danger of extinction. “Its decline reflects the broader degradation of terrestrial habitats throughout the island and the ecosystems that support,” said Van Damme, adding that overheating, predominantly of the goats, is another important challenge, which leads to habitat degradation and “leaving trees behind the grimace with less young trees to replace them.”
The growing trace of tourism
Attracted by the virgin beaches of Socotra, Turquoan waters and surreal flora, tourists are also pressing the growing pressure in the fragile ecosystem of the island.
While there are only a handful of hotels, mainly in the Hadibo capital, a growing number of tour operators offers luxury camping and tours of 4×4 on the island, some of which are packaged as ecotourism.
The authorities have agreed to limit the number of tourists to around 4,500 per year, Ali Yahya, a local conservation and tourist operator, he said in an interview last month, adding that when it comes to “very delicate areas in terms of ecosystems, biodiversity and cultural heritage, it is not strictly allowed to build large buildings or hotels on a large scale.”
But despite the designation of the World Heritage of UNESCO of Socotra, which requires preservation under international agreements, violations occur frequently, said another local guide, Abdulraof al-Gamhi, in a series of voice and messages written last month.
“Some tourists build fires under dragon blood trees, size inscriptions in weird trees, leave the garbage and scare the birds with their drones,” he said. But he added that many of the island’s residents benefit from tourism and that it is “very important” for “tourism companies, car owners, drivers, restaurants, hotels and sellers of handicrafts.”
Echoing his concerns, Van Damme also said that endangered species were “being killed only by a selfie”, with rare species such as the chameleons captured so that tourists can take photos with them.
Al-Gamhi also said that he expected the number of tourists to rise as more people discover the single place, and “that will exert a lot of pressure on our environment.”
“It will be a great challenge,” he added.
A warning story
Although the comparison of Galapagos is often used to celebrate Socotra’s biodiversity, it can also serve as warning, according to Van Damme, who is co -author of a 2011 study on human impacts on the island.
Since the nineteenth century, the Galapagos, remote islands to about 600 miles from the coast of Continental Ecuador, known for its unique flora and fauna, have lost numerous endemic species due to habitat interruption, abolzism and invasive species.
“Perhaps the ecosystems of Socoten,” Van Damme wrote at that time, “now it could be considered at least a similar state of health of those of the Galapagos at the time of [the Ecuadorian islands’] Nomination as a world heritage site 30 years ago. “He added that Socotra risk a similar destination without” timely conservation efforts. “
“If we consider the current condition in Galapagos, we could take a look at the future of Socotra, or better, what could happen if trends and threats continue in parallel,” the document added.
That evaluation “turned out to be very predictive,” particularly in terms of climate change, he told NBC News.
The Galapagos Islands now house more than 250,000 annual visitors, under strict controls, including visitors, mandatory guides, designated trails and substantial tourism rates, which finance conservation.
Socotra needs to implement similar protections before the damage becomes irreversible, said Van Damme.
Culture and tradition
Beyond the environment, there are signs that tourism is also eroding the social fabric of the island, according to Yahya, who said there was already a “cultural change” among its 60,000 residents, many of whom remain deeply traditional and speak SOQOTRI, an ancient and unwritten language with pre -crisp roots.
“International behaviors influence the locals, and we care about the erosion of our traditions,” he said, adding that while tourists were welcome, some of them had to be more respectful.
An Instagram image of a woman who posed in a bikini under the blood tree of a dragon had bothered the residents of a mountain village, he said, adding that conservative residents considered him very disrespectful.
Despite the pressures, there are reasons to be positive, said Van Damme, and pointed out that the authorities on the island are open to collaboration and local conservation projects are gaining ground.
“The initiatives led by the community and other initiatives are vital,” he said. “As long as they continue, there is a real hope for the future of the island.”
