Frankincense: The Luxury That’s Fast Disappearing

Wealthy consumers and visitors peruse a constellation of shops offering jars and bottles of cosmetics made from frankincense in a bustling part of London. Amid the fragrant resin enclosed in glass are a variety of anti-aging serums, lotions, essences, and scents.

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A vial of eye serum or a small bottle of? frankincense skin cream has a possibility of costing around ￡80 and more. The “virile” perfumes infused with frankincense sold by a luxury brand costs around hundreds of pounds for a bottle in London. Frankincense is termed as the “king of essential oils” by an aromatherapy company and also claims it promotes immunity and cellular health. The company sells the 15ml bottle at almost ￡90.?

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For thousands of years, people have gathered frankincense on the Arabian Peninsula and in the Horn of Africa, across the Red Sea. It was priced high for its woody fragrance which is deep in ancient Egypt. It was said that the three magi brought it as a gift along with myth and gold for baby Jesus. Most churches will burn it during their services.?

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High demand for Frankincense was mostly for churches until about 20 years ago. Although presently the ancient resin is known to become a hot commodity worldwide. This is due to the health benefits that it comes with that caught the attention of the wellness industry. The sector is almost worth $5.6 trillion a year.?

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Nevertheless the extraction of frankincense remains strongly rooted in its ancient past. Supply chains are tangled and broken, frequently characterized by violence and exploitation, and controlled by intermediaries who take the majority of the value from the raw resin.

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As the number of people that extract resin from many shrinking trees increase, the threat to the future of the species and local farmers also increase. The first warning of frankincense going extinct came into light in 2011 through a study of? Boswellia papyrifera in northern Ethiopia. It predicted that by 2060, almost 90% of the trees would disappear.?

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According to the Nature study, the effects of the fire and draughts on the trees leaves them vulnerable to blowing over in high winds while also degrading the soil. While most seeds are eaten by goats and cattle, the biggest concern and reason however is overexploitation.?

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Frankincense, like maple syrup, is gathered by "tapping" the bark, which involves making well-spaced, shallow cuts and waiting 10 to 15 days for the resin to flow out and harden. After tapping, trees should rest for several months. If too many incisions are made, damaging bugs and fungi enter the tree, killing it.

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Researchers discovered that frankincense trees in Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea were subjected to "reckless" over-tapping, with too many incisions done too close together, too deeply, and too frequently to meet rising global demand.