Frankincense, the aromatic resin of Boswellia trees, has linked the Horn of Africa and southern Arabia to Mediterranean and Asian markets for millennia. Churches, perfumers, and traditional medicine still depend on it.
Scientific and agronomic reporting in the 2010s highlighted a worrying trend: over-tapping, fire, land conversion, and poor regeneration threatening Boswellia populations. Researchers asked whether better harvesting rules and cultivation could save wild stands.
For Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Sudan, frankincense is both cultural heritage and rural income. Sustainable resin economies sit at the intersection of ecology, liturgy, and export diversification.
