The warm, fragrant aroma of frankincense, a precious resin has long been associated with festive celebrations. Once lit, it fills home with a sense of tradition and comfort. Its popularity has significantly increased in the wellness and aromatherapy industry, in recent years. It is widely praised for its calming and restorative properties. Despite its growing demand, there lies a troubling reality, as the natural sources of this resin is depleting rapidly. The situation has threatened both the ecosystems and the communities that rely on them.
What is Frankincense?
Frankincense is a hardened gum-like material (resin) that comes from the trunk of the Boswellia tree. People use its oil on the skin and in aromatherapy. The resin is commonly used as a fragrance in soaps, lotions, incense sticks and perfumes. With Christmas approaching, the warm scent of frankincense feels especially familiar. It is famously known as one of the sacred gifts given to baby Jesus, along with gold and myrrh, by the three magi. The precious resin remains deeply connected to the season, widely used in meditation, healing practices, and centuries-old Catholic Christmas rituals.
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In this article, we share why the world is running out of frankincense and who all are getting affected by it.
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For Salaban Salad Muse, frankincense is more than a livelihood, it’s his life’s work. Muse is a seasoned frankincense harvester who lives in the small town of Dayaha in the Sanaag region of Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. He has dedicated his life to harvesting frankincense from Boswellia trees his family has tended for generations. According to a BBC report, each year, he spends months caring for the groves, checking trees, tending seedlings, and harvesting resin.
Why is it becoming scarce amid soaring global demand?
But rising global demand, low payments, local tensions, and uncertain regulations are pushing many harvesters to overexploit the trees. This situation is threatening both their livelihoods and the future of these precious groves. Muse and many other harvesters in Somaliland rely on this precious resin for their income. Much of the world’s production comes from the Horn of Africa, particularly Somaliland, Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan.
Harvesters collect the resin by scraping the bark of wild trees. This process often takes long hours and offers uncertain pay in informal markets. With little regulation, many harvesters are becoming vulnerable to middlemen who take advantage of conflict and weak oversight. Frankincense is gathered through a process called tapping. This process involves making cuts in the bark, which then releases sap that hardens into small tears over time and is later collected. Furthermore, climate change, pest outbreaks, grazing, fires and poor harvesting practices are also harming the trees.
As a result, populations of Boswellia papyrifera are declining, with few young trees growing to replace older ones, leading to a growing scarcity of frankincense. According to BBC report, researchers have noted the difficulty of assessing trees in Somaliland due to the local tensions. Founder of the Save The Frankincense project and co-author of the 2022 report, Anjanette DeCarlo says, “Frankincense is "surely threatened", although there is only good and available data for a few species…For several species, however, there are many individual trees left…It all depends on the main threats within each location such as grazing by camels, extensive tapping, extreme weather (flash floods for example) and mining.”
Global frankincense market
The global frankincense market was worth about $363 million in 2023 and trades around 6,000 to 7,000 tonnes each year. Its value is expected to nearly double by 2032. Somaliland is home to two highly valued Boswellia species, especially Boswellia frereana, which is often called the “king of frankincense” because of its quality and aroma. Strong global demand has made Somaliland one of the world’s largest exporters, shipping at least 1,000 tonnes every year.