The archipelagos keep impressive secrets thanks to their composition and isolation from the world’s biodiversity. In them we can find creatures and beings extremely different from those we are used to seeing. The clear example of this is the Galapagos Islands Archipelago, which served as a natural laboratory from where Charles Darwin devised his theory of natural selection. But, in the distant nation of Yemen, is located the Socotra archipelago, where each island that makes it up are worthy representatives of natural eccentricity.
Considered those of the Indian Ocean, the four islands that make up the archipelago, although they belong to Yemen, are closer to the Horn of Africa than to the Arabian Peninsula. Located between the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, this site brings together species of plants and animals unique in the world. Thanks to the prolonged isolation and the peculiar climatic conditions, its beauty seems more dreamlike than terrestrial.
Image: Кристина Макеева
And although it is one of the most biologically diverse habitats in the world, the island has been very little explored. The first time that United Nations researchers arrived to explore its immense wealth was in 1997. It was not until 2008 that all four islands were considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, for their landscapes that seem straight out of Other worlds.
Unique biodiversity on the planet
The UN itself explains that in this paradisiacal corner it is possible to find unique species on the planet. “37% of Socotra’s plant species, 90% of its reptile species, and 95% of its land snail species, are found nowhere else in the world,” the United Nations says.
Image: Кристина Макеева
In its lands we see the large Dracaena cinnabari tree inhabit, a poetically visual species that borders on the dreamlike. With their large canopy of twisted, intricate branches stacked on top of each other, dragon’s bloods attract attention with their eccentric beauty. But such a special tree could not be the same as all the others. When it is cut, its intense red sap flows from its bark, giving it the title of “dragon’s blood.” Although only the most experienced residents are allowed to extract the sap from the dragon trees, as they are the only ones who know how to do it without damaging their bark.
Wars and climate change
Thanks to its remoteness of 380 kilometers from the open sea, the Socotra archipelago has stayed away from the conflicts that now plague the nation to which it belongs. The country is the scene of a conflict between the Yemeni government and the Shiite Houthis, a resistance movement that was born in opposition to the religious influence of Saudi Arabia and that has kept Yemen mired in a civil war.
Image: Кристина Макеева
However, despite the fact that it has stayed away from war conflicts, there is one phenomenon that it has not been able to escape; he . In November 2015, Socotra was hit by two cyclones that caused destruction among the species that inhabit it. In addition, it is one of the most sensitive to the effects of climate change. The flora of the island of Socotra is considered by the botanical community as one of the 10 most endangered floras in the world.
Socotra reminds us that nature manages to adapt to even the most remote corners of the planet and is capable of emerging ineffable landscapes, in the middle of nowhere. The archipelago is one of the most inaccessible to humanity and perhaps should remain this way. Only in this way will it manage to survive and continue its evolution towards landscapes almost unknown to us.
Image: Кристина Макеева