Frankincense:on the Verge of Extinction

Trees that Provide Frankincense are Endangered
Frankincense (also known as olibanum) is the dried resin that comes from the “tears” of cuts in a variety of Boswellia tree species, specifically Boswellia sacra and Boswellia carterii. Boswellia trees are grown in the dry climates of Oman, Yemen, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, and northwestern India. Unfortunately, many of these trees are now endangered.
In particular, it is reported that boswellia papyrifera, which grows in Ethiopia and Sudan, could be extinct within the next 50 years. Anjanette DeCarlo, chief sustainability scientist for the US-based Aromatic Plant Research Center and head of the Save Frankincense project, predicts that in the next 20 years, frankincense resin production will be halved. DeCarlo said action needs to be taken to prevent the extinction of frankincense now because many of the trees are “the last of their generation” and are being over-tapped for frankincense resin, which makes it harder for them to regenerate and survive.

Along with DeCarlo, Stephen Johnson, an organismal biologist and frankincense researcher, suggests that frankincense purchasers, including the Catholic Church and the essential oil industry, need to take a closer look at the source providing them with frankincense. Johnson said, “Today, we have the ability to go directly to the source, to talk to the actual harvesters and to employ technologies that allow us to track products all along the supply chain and make sure that that is all being done ethically and in a way that allows the trees and the communities to flourish. ”

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