Frankincense Shortage on the Horizon

It’s almost Christmas and the value of the gifts of the Three Wise Men is on the rise. For those not remembering the Nativity story the Three Wise Men brought three items, gold, frankincense and myrrh to the birth of baby Jesus. Quite valuable way back when, the three items are still quite rare today.

Gold increased 20 percent in value this year while price of myrrh remains volatile. But frankincense may be in short supply in the next 50 years, as demand increases and the Boswellia tree, where the resin originates is disappearing and not being replaced.

Dutch forest ecologist Frank Bongers is trying to preserve the fast-disappearing tree that produces frankincense, a tree highly adapted to survive the harsh conditions in Ethiopia. But he says that fires, human encroachment and species are overpowering the dry-land ecosystems.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources includes 10 Boswellia tree species on its Red List of Threatened Species. Eight are listed as vulnerable to extinction.

And Dr. Bongers thinks that the frankincense tree could be 90 percent wiped out in the next 50 years.

He says, “This is a rather alarming message for the incense industry and conservation organizations.”

While frankincense isn’t a major commodity, about 2,500 tons of the Christmas ingredient are purchased in the U.S., Europe, North Africa and China every year.

Bongers is studying the tree’s genetics to better understand its diversity as a means to save it from extinction. One suggestion he has is to stop tapping the tree for its sap after five years.

In another frankincense tree study five years ago, scientists discovered that taking resin from Boswellia trees for frankincense caused them to produce one-third the number of seeds as trees that had never been tapped.

He says, “There’s not a shortage of frankincense, but there’s no regeneration of the forests. There are no young trees anymore.” He also suggests growing saplings in nurseries and planting them where they are safe from fire and animal grazing.

While it would be sad to lose an entire tree species to extinction, Christmas will still have gold and myrrh.