Climate change poses a significant threat to the natural environment globally, causing the extinction of many plant species and living organisms. According to Engineer Abdullah Abu Al-Futouh, an environmental expert and Director General of Biodiversity at the Public Authority for Environment Protection in Sana'a, who confirmed to "Khuyut" that plants are particularly more affected and vulnerable to climate change due to their inability to adapt quickly to fluctuations in temperature and variations in seasonal rainfall patterns.
As part of this global context, Yemen is experiencing rising temperatures and a decrease in annual rainfall, which has led to environmental degradation, affected plant growth, and reduced their distribution areas, thereby harming plant biodiversity.
“Climate change affects ecosystems by causing shifts in the distribution of plants, animals, and human settlements, leading to the spread of diseases and viruses amidst declining ecosystem services.”
Impacts Threatening Biodiversity
Abu Al-Fotouh pointed to the direct impact of these changes, saying, "Climate change plays an important role in biodiversity loss. It alters marine and terrestrial ecosystems, affecting freshwater sources and leading to the loss of local species, increased diseases, and even mass die-offs of plants and animals, although plants are more affected."
In a related context, rising global temperatures have driven animals and plants to migrate to higher altitudes, with many migrating towards the poles. This poses a long-term threat to ecosystems, extending beyond the issue of species extinction. According to Abu Al-Fotouh, it could accelerate the end of life on Earth in ways that even the most pessimistic scenarios might not fully anticipate.
He added, "Climate change also impacts the health of ecosystems by causing shifts in the distribution of plants, animals, and even human settlements, leading to the spread of diseases and viruses, especially with the decline in ecosystem services such as the loss of food, medicine, and livelihoods provided by nature."
Moreover, Yemen is particularly vulnerable to these changes due to its reliance on seasonal rains for agriculture, given its water scarcity and rugged terrain. According to climate change expert Ola Al-Saqqaf, who emphasized in an interview with "Khuyut," climate change has significantly contributed to the spread of diseases and the desert encroachment into agricultural lands that were recently arable farming.
For his part, Hajeb Al-Hajebi, a researcher in climate change and environmental sciences and a faculty member at Sana'a University, indicated in an interview with "Khuyut" that the increased concentration of carbon dioxide resulting from massive pollution caused by vehicles and factory emissions, wars, and chemical and nuclear experiments has contributed to rising global temperatures and altered rainfall patterns. He also pointed out that this has led to natural disasters such as hurricanes, fires, and storms.
Similarly, climate change has led to the disappearance of certain plants in some areas and the emergence of others in new regions. For instance, plants that typically thrive in warmer climates have started to appear in colder regions.
An Environment Rich in Habitats
Yemen’s terrestrial environment is home to approximately 3,000 plant species, with approximately 10% being endemic. According to Ma'een Al-Suwari, Director General of the Climate Change Unit at the Public Authority for Environment Protection, who spoke to "Khuyut" about the features of Yemen's vegetation cover, "Yemen is distinguished by its exceptionally rich and diverse plant life, attributing it to the country's unique location and varied climate, which together create a rich environment with natural habitats suitable for the life of many plant species.
Al-Suwari highlighted Yemen’s botanical diversity with the example of Socotra Island, which, according to studies, contains over 467 plant species from 244 genera and 71 families.
However, he confirmed that the island is home to 850 plant species, of which 254 are endemic. Moreover, it provides a habitat for ten out of the eighteen genera of rare and endangered plants found in the Arabian Peninsula.
Al-Suwari added: "The National Biodiversity Strategy and the Executive Plan for the Republic of Yemen in 2004 indicated that most of the country's endemic plants are concentrated in mountainous regions. These areas provide a diverse and rich environment that supports the growth of succulent plants classified within the cactus family (Cactaceae), especially during periods of climatic fluctuations."
He further noted that Yemen lacks precise data on the status of rare and endangered plants. However, he clarified that the Red List published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) includes eight endangered species, seven of which are found in Socotra; in addition to 19 rare species that are also under threat.
For his part, Shams al-Din Nasr, a seed specialist, pointed out that climate change has led to the disappearance of some plants from certain areas while causing others to appear in new regions. He noted that some plants typically found in warm areas have started appearing and growing in colder regions. For instance, the Acacia tree, which was previously restricted to Wadi Hadheer in Balsan village, Yareem District, Ibb Governorate, is now found in many areas; whereas plants that were once present in the same valley, such as the Fatah tree and the oncoba spinosa tree, have disappeared.
Endangered Socotran Plants
In this regard, Abdulqader Al-Kharraz, an Associate Professor of Environmental Impact Assessment at the Faculty of Marine Sciences and Environment at Al-Hodeidah University, spoke to "Khuyut" about the rare plants in the Socotra Archipelago, saying, "The vegetation on Socotra Island faces great challenges threatening the extinction of many rare trees and plants, particularly the dragon’s blood tree, due to cyclones and floods such as Cyclone Chapala, which hit the island between 2015 and 2018, leading to the reduction of Dragon’s Blood Tree forests and uprooting many of them."
The Dragon's Blood Tree is classified as one of the world's rarest trees and is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. British researcher Peter Martel highlighted this in a 2021 article on the Science X website, warning that the tree could face extinction within a few decades due to the combined pressures of cyclones, global warming, drought, and overgrazing in the archipelago over the past few decades.
Moreover, the island's residents had reported the severe storms that hit the island in Dixam on the high plateau surrounding the Hajar Mountains, which stretch along the 130-kilometer length of the island and reach an elevation of 1,500 meters, where dead trees are scattered by these storms like bowling pins, according to Martell's description.
Martell also pointed out that frankincense trees are also at risk of extinction. Storms have destroyed over a third of them in the Hoomhil Forest in Socotra over the past decade. One study indicates that the number of frankincense trees in this area has decreased by 78% between 1956 and 2017.
Among the rare and endangered plant species on the island are the Adenium socotranum (Socotra Desert Rose), which blooms on the slopes of Socotra's mountains, according to the official website of the Yemen Tourism Promotion Council. Additionally, there is Exacum affine, also known as Persian Violet, which is the only species in the Cucurbitaceae (Gentianaceae) family that grows in tree form. The Socotran orchid, which grows in the shaded areas of mountainous forests at elevations between 800 and 1,000 meters, occupies a very limited area, further increasing its risk of extinction.
“Drought, floods, and scarce rainfall have impacted forest trees, in addition to the encroachment of sand dunes around the fertile valleys in Hadhramaut and Al Mahrah, which were once dominated by vachellia flava, jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana), and Acacia tortilis trees.”
Extinct Rare Plants
Al-Hajebi listed the names of some extinct and endangered plants, saying: "There are many plants that have gone extinct and disappeared, such as the Dragon's Herb (Socotran), which is a tall, flowering herb that aids in sleep, along with the Huernia primulina, and the Red Coral plant, which have completely vanished from the Yemeni environment."
In a related context, the 2012 National Report on the Status of Forest and Woodland Genetic Resources in Yemen mentioned that several plant species are now threatened with extinction or may have already become extinct, including over twenty species.
Likewise, drought, floods, and scarce rainfall have impacted forest trees in Al-Mahra, Hadhramaut, and Shabwa, affecting species such as tamarisk, Ziziphus lotus, Anogeissus dhofarica, Zizphus spina Christ, tropical almond (Terminalia catappa), and Amaranthus graecizans. In addition to the encroachment of sand dunes around the fertile valleys in Hadhramaut and Al Mahrah, which were once dominated by vachellia flava, jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana), and Acacia tortilis trees.
In addition to negatively affecting crop production in the country, a 2023 study on the impact of climate change on human development in Yemen, prepared by the United Nations Development Programme and other international organizations, indicated that rising temperatures could lead to a decrease in crop yields in Yemen of up to 27%.
New Pest Habitats
Furthermore, Abu Al-Futouh pointed to other factors contributing to the deterioration of Yemen's natural environment, noting, "Each year, we lose up to 40% of our food crops due to pests and plant diseases, causing significant income losses, especially in impoverished communities that depend on agriculture as their main source of livelihood."
He adds, "Pests and plant diseases do not recognize national boundaries; they can spread to new areas and become established there as their natural habitat. Meanwhile, changing climate conditions exacerbate this spread by creating environments conducive to the proliferation of these pests and expanding their range."
Abu Al-Fotouh cited examples of these diseases, saying, "In the last decade, many diseases have spread, such as the red palm weevil, fall armyworm, fruit fly, desert locust, emerald ash borer, potato late blight, which affects potatoes and tomatoes, as well as coffee rust, banana wilt caused by a fungal disease, Xylella fastidiosa, and grape downy mildew. Consequently, these issues pose a major threat to the environment."
Desertification: An Additional Challenge
In an interview with "Khuyut," Farouk Taleb, the Director General of Forests and Desertification Control at the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation in Aden, addressed another issue contributing to the decline of vegetation and the death of numerous plant species: desertification. He confirmed that climate change has increased desertification in Yemen from 8.8% in 2015 to 15.5% in 2020 due to the increased frequency of droughts in Yemen and the annual average temperature rising by 0.06 degrees each year.
It is noteworthy that researchers worldwide spent about ten years compiling a database containing 20 million records of plant species observations.
The researchers have found that there are approximately 435,000 unique species of wild plants on Earth. Of these, a substantial 36.5%, or roughly 158,535 species, are classified as "extremely rare," meaning they have been observed and recorded in five locations or fewer globally. Furthermore, 28.3% of the world's plants, amounting to 123,149 species, have been recorded in three locations or fewer, according to the study.
The research team found that rare plant species are concentrated in a few specific hotspots. They also noted that global warming and the effects of human land use are disproportionately impacting the regions that harbor the majority of these plant species.
