Frankincense
Frankincense is a popular ingredient in perfume and incense. It comes from the sap or resin of a variety of Boswellia tree species located in north-eastern Africa and Asia, for most of which data is severely lacking. The resin is typically collected by impoverished local families for whom frankincense is a critical source of income.
Names
Frankincense, Boswellia sacra *
Found in ingredients as
Frankincense, olibanum
Used in
Top producers
Yemen, Oman, Somalia
Conservation status
IUCN Red List:
CITES:
Not listed
*Note: Multiple species in trade are referred to by the common name ‘frankincense’. There are 24 members of the genus Boswellia, distributed across Africa, Arabia, and South Asia, about four of which are commonly traded internationally as frankincense. This profile focuses on Boswellia sacra.
Opportunities
Frankincense harvesters. Photo: Ackroyd + Harvey
Research
A significant lack of data has been noted for Boswellia species. Supporting harvesters to collect and share data on the annual harvest (e.g. timings, locations, species, tonnages, techniques) can contribute to better resource management.
Partnerships & Associations
Businesses can engage with local groups and NGOs such as the Global Frankincense Alliance to support sustainable harvesting techniques and community development.
Conservation & restoration
Protecting and planting Frankincense trees can benefit other important local species and contribute to a healthier ecosystem overall. For example:
In Oman, Critically Endangered Arabian leopards Panthera pardus nimr live among frankincense trees and face similar threats of desertification and livestock overgrazing.
Honeybees feed off the sweet-smelling frankincense flowers, which in turn benefits local honey production.
Frankincense trees support the Great Green Wall Project, which aims to create a new forest spanning across Africa, creating socio-economic development opportunities for local people and restoring biodiversity.
Standards & certification
Certifications can be a supporting tool to ensure responsible sourcing. A wide range of standards are available that can be applied to wild-harvested plants, such as FairWild, Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT), Fairtrade, FairForLife, Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Organic, Rainforest Alliance, and Certificate of Origin (e.g. DOP/PDO, PGI, TCG).
The FairWild standard is already being applied to frankincense harvesting in Kenya and Somaliland, ensuring an ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable trade.
Two companies in Somaliland and Somalia have achieved organic certification by the standards to the US Department of Agriculture National Organic Program, affording them greater economic returns on their harvests.
Biological Risk
A significant lack of data (both ecological and harvest data) for Boswellia species necessitates extra caution in sourcing.
The species’ geographic distribution is locally restricted to northern Somalia and the woodlands of the escarpment mountains of the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula.
The species is adapted to one specific habitat type: mountainous desert-woodland habitats that are reached by coastal fog.
It may be facing multiple threats such as:
Improper harvesting techniques from trees
Livestock overgrazing
Social Risk
Assessed for Somalia (including the Republic of Somaliland), Oman, and Yemen
Low wages: frankincense is the main source of income for many vulnerable families, leaving them at the mercy of price fluctuations and frankincense availability.
Discrimination: in the Republic of Somaliland, women are traditionally discriminated against in land ownership and therefore management of Frankincense resources.
Forced labour: instability related to internal conflicts in Somalia and Yemen means that goods sourced from these regions are at risk of being linked to modern slavery and child labour.
Note: The Republic of Somaliland, an important region for frankincense production, has not been formally recognised as a country. Therefore, the social risk indices reviewed were for Somalia, in which Somaliland is included. However, Somaliland is known to have been more stable in recent years than the rest of Somalia and therefore may differ in its social risk.