{"id":221548,"date":"2025-06-28T14:38:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T14:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/221548\/"},"modified":"2025-06-28T14:38:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T14:38:12","slug":"millions-of-years-of-evolution-could-be-wiped-out-on-galapagos-of-the-indian-ocean-conservationists-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/221548\/","title":{"rendered":"Millions of years of evolution could be wiped out on ‘Galapagos of the Indian Ocean,’ conservationists warn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sitting off the Horn of Africa<\/a>, the Yemeni island of Socotra<\/a> was largely left to its own devices for centuries, its few guests arriving to trade for aromatic frankincense, the healing plant aloe and the crimson sap of the dragon\u2019s blood tree, used for dyes.<\/p>\n

Roughly the size of New York\u2019s Long Island<\/a>, Socotra is about 140 miles off the coast of Somalia, a remote location that has allowed a unique ecosystem to flourish. It has a rich array of bird and animal life, and the coral reefs off its shores teem with colorful marine life. <\/strong>One-third of its 825 plant species cannot be found anywhere else on Earth, <\/strong>according to UNESCO. <\/p>\n

Some, including conservationist Kay Van Damme, have called it the Gal\u00e1pagos <\/a>of the Indian Ocean and along with other experts, he is warning that millions of years of evolution on Socotra could be under \u201cserious threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cClimate change is by far the biggest threat to the island\u2019s biodiversity,\u201d Van Damme, who has worked on Socotra for more than two decades, told NBC News in a call last month. \u201cIt is a relatively small island with a predominantly arid climate. Even small additional impacts from climate change can have an outsized effect, putting further pressure on fragile ecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheA dragon\u2019s blood tree on the Yemeni island of Socotra, a species found only on the Indian Ocean archipelago.Peter Martell \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Prolonged droughts brought on by climate change are compounding damage from devastating cyclones in 2015 and 2018 that destroyed reefs, eroded soil and uprooted rare plants.<\/p>\n

The island\u2019s lifeblood, endemic species of frankincense trees, are also under threat. Four of the 11 recognized species on the island were classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in March. <\/p>\n

Five were recognized as endangered.\u201cTheir decline reflects the wider degradation of terrestrial habitats across the island and the ecosystems they support,\u201d said Van Damme, adding that overgrazing \u2014 predominantly from goats \u2014 is another significant challenge, leading to habitat degradation and \u201cleaving behind overmature trees with fewer younger trees to replace them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tourism\u2019s growing footprint<\/strong><\/p>\n

Attracted by Socotra\u2019s pristine beaches, turquoise waters and surreal flora, tourists are also placing mounting pressure on the island\u2019s fragile ecosystem.<\/p>\n

While there is only a handful of hotels, mostly in the capital Hadibo, a growing number of tour operators offer luxury camping and 4×4 tours around the island, some of which are packaged as ecotourism.<\/p>\n

Authorities have agreed to limit the number of tourists to around 4,500 per year, Ali Yahya, a local conservationist and tour operator, said in an interview last month, adding that when it came to \u201cvery sensitive areas in terms of ecosystems, biodiversity and cultural heritage, it\u2019s strictly not allowed to build any big buildings or large-scale hotels.\u201d<\/p>\n

But despite Socotra\u2019s UNESCO World Heritage <\/a>designation \u2014 requiring preservation under international agreements \u2014 violations occur frequently, another local guide, Abdulraoof al-Gamhi, said in a series of voice and written messages last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome tourists build fires under dragon blood trees, carve inscriptions into rare trees, leave trash behind them and scare birds with their drones,\u201d he said. But he added that many of the island\u2019s residents benefit from tourism and that it is \u201cvery important\u201d for \u201ctour companies, car owners, drivers, restaurants, hotels and sellers of handcrafts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Echoing his concerns, Van Damme also said endangered species were \u201cbeing killed just for a selfie,\u201d with rare species like chameleons being captured so tourists can take pictures with them.<\/p>\n

Al-Gamhi also said he expected the number of tourists to rise as more people discover the unique locale, and \u201cthat will put a lot of pressure on our environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be a big challenge,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

A cautionary tale<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although the Gal\u00e1pagos comparison is often used to celebrate Socotra\u2019s biodiversity, it can also serve as a warning, according to Van Damme, who co-authored a 2011 study<\/a> on human impacts on the island.<\/p>\n

Since the 19th century, the Gal\u00e1pagos, remote islands some 600 miles off the coast of mainland Ecuador known for their unique flora and fauna, have lost numerous endemic species to habitat disruption, overtourism and invasive species.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps Socotran ecosystems,\u201d Van Damme wrote at the time, \u201ccould now be considered as having at least, a similar state of health of those in the Gal\u00e1pagos at the time of [the Ecuadorian islands\u2019] nomination as world heritage site 30 years ago.\u201d He added that Socotra risked a similar fate without \u201ctimely conservation efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PicturesChildren play in the waves off the Yemeni island of Socotra.Annika Hammerschlag \/ AP<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we consider the present-day condition in the Gal\u00e1pagos, we might catch a glimpse of Socotra\u2019s future, or better, what could happen if trends and threats continue in parallel,\u201d the paper added.<\/p>\n

That assessment \u201cturned out to be very predictive,\u201d particularly in terms of climate change, he told NBC News.<\/p>\n

The Gal\u00e1pagos Islands now host over 250,000 annual visitors, under strict controls including visitor caps, mandatory guides, designated trails and substantial tourism fees, which fund conservation.<\/p>\n

Socotra needs to implement similar protections before damage becomes irreversible, Van Damme said.<\/p>\n

Culture and tradition<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beyond the environment, there are signs that tourism is also eroding the island\u2019s social fabric, according to Yahya, who said there was already a \u201ccultural shift\u201d among its 60,000 residents, many of whom remain deeply traditional and speak Soqotri, an ancient, unwritten language with pre-Islamic roots.<\/p>\n

\u201cInternational behaviors are influencing locals, and we worry about the erosion of our traditions,\u201d he said, adding that while tourists were welcome, some of them needed to be more respectful.<\/p>\n

An Instagram picture of a woman posing in a bikini beneath a dragon\u2019s blood tree had upset residents of one mountain village, he said, adding that it was seen as highly disrespectful by the conservative residents.<\/p>\n

Despite the pressures, there are reasons to be positive, Van Damme said, noting that authorities on the island are open to collaboration and local conservation projects are gaining traction.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity-led and other ongoing initiatives are vital,\u201d he said. \u201cAs long as they continue, there\u2019s genuine hope for the island\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sitting off the Horn of Africa, the Yemeni island of Socotra was largely left to its own devices…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221549,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3843],"tags":[728,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-221548","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}