Sustainable Environmental Practices of Socotra People

Abstract

To learn about the traditional and indigenous practices that have maintained Soctora’s rich ecosystem, short-term qualitative field research was conducted during a two-week excursion to Socotra in May 2022. Using a local guide, data was collected through the authors’ observations of human interactions with the environment; engagement in local activities (e.g., hiking, snorkeling); interviews with key informants (e.g., government officials, university faculty, community leaders) and community members; and review of government reports. Sustainable indigenous practices were identified related to (1) food supply and storage; (2) water collection, use and storage; (3) land use; and (4) waste disposal. Socotra’s indigenous people have cared for and lived off the island’s resources for centuries, perhaps millenia, using traditional practices that maintained the fragile and unique biodiversity that exists today (Damme and Banfield in Zoology in the Middle East 54:31–88, 2011). Currently, there is a tension between conservation of Socotra’s unique biodiversity; development for basic infrastructure (i.e., water, waste, energy); development for tourism; and local and indigenous people and practices. As the population, tourism and development increase, the delicate balance that has maintained the environment and locals for millennia, is threatened. In addition, climate change and environmental degradation threaten Socotra’s ecosystems. Although it is too simple to say that indigenous practices are the solution to environmental degradation (Briggs in Progress in Development Studies 5:99–114, 2005), scholars have suggested we look to traditional practices used by local and indigenous peoples for ideas that may offer some hope (Hernandez in Fresh banana leaves: healing indigenous landscapes through indigenous science, North Atlantic Books, 2022; Nelson & Shilling in Traditional ecological knowledge. Cambridge University Press, 2018; Singh et al. in Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 17(50), 2021). This research attempts to fill part of that need.