The sweet, smoky fragrance of frankincense has long been associated with prayer, healing and celebration, but behind its growing global popularity lies a fragile ecosystem and a community struggling to survive. In the dry highlands of Somaliland, where the resin has been harvested for centuries, the future of frankincense — and the people who depend on it — is increasingly uncertain as overexploitation, climate stress and economic pressures take their toll.
For Salaban Salad Muse, a lifelong harvester from the town of Dayaha in Somaliland’s Sanaag region, frankincense is not a luxury commodity but a way of life. Each year, he spends months living in a cave near the groves of Boswellia trees owned by his family for generations. His days are spent walking between trees, checking for pests, clearing sand and tending seedlings. Like many others in the region, his livelihood depends entirely on the resin extracted from these hardy desert trees.
Yet the survival of these groves is under serious threat. Across Somaliland and neighbouring parts of Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, the traditional methods of harvesting frankincense are being pushed beyond sustainable limits. Rising global demand, weak regulation and deep economic hardship have forced many harvesters to tap trees more aggressively than they can endure. While careful tapping allows trees to recover over time, excessive cutting weakens them, reduces resin yield and often leads to long-term damage.
Frankincense, once a prized offering in biblical times and a staple of ancient trade routes, has found new popularity in the modern wellness industry. Used widely in aromatherapy, meditation, alternative medicine and religious rituals, it now forms part of a global wellness market valued in the trillions. The resin’s growing appeal has pushed up international demand, but little of the resulting profit reaches those who harvest it.
The Boswellia tree, which produces frankincense, grows in harsh, rocky terrain and matures slowly. According to researchers, it can take more than a decade for a tree to recover from excessive tapping. Studies have shown that some species, particularly Boswellia papyrifera, are declining rapidly. A 2019 scientific assessment found that more than three-quarters of the trees surveyed lacked young growth, signalling a collapse in natural regeneration caused by overharvesting, grazing, fires and environmental stress.
Climate change has further intensified the crisis. Prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall and pest infestations have weakened already vulnerable forests. In some areas, beetle outbreaks have devastated large swathes of Boswellia trees. With few alternative livelihoods available, harvesters often have no option but to extract more resin, accelerating the cycle of decline.
Despite the soaring international value of frankincense — which can sell for up to $100 per kilogram in global markets — harvesters in Somaliland typically earn only a fraction of that amount. Middlemen dominate the trade, benefiting from unstable governance and limited oversight. While exporters and traders accumulate profits, those doing the physical labour often receive just a few dollars per kilogram, leaving them trapped in poverty.
Experts warn that unless harvesting practices change, the future of frankincense is bleak. Some conservationists advocate for large-scale cultivation and better management of wild trees to ensure regeneration. Others caution that plantations could trigger new disputes over land and water in already fragile regions. Improved regulation, fairer pricing and transparent supply chains are widely seen as essential to protecting both the trees and the communities that depend on them.
With global demand continuing to rise, the stakes are high. Researchers estimate that without intervention, frankincense production could fall by half within two decades. For harvesters like Salad Muse, the decline is not an abstract environmental issue but an immediate threat to survival. As the ancient resin continues to perfume homes and temples across the world, the question remains whether its source can be protected before it disappears altogether.
