Preserving Socotra:a race against time
Socotra may well be the most alien looking place on Earth. The islands are a unique treasure trove of flora and fauna, located between mainland Yemen and Somalia in the Indian Ocean. The Socotra Archipelago Project is undertaking a critical mission to explore, preserve and protect these fragile and biodiverse islands. With a team of expert scientists and storytellers, we want to ensure that the ‘Jewel of the Arabian Sea’ gets the attention it deserves, and that it so desperately needs – saving it from current storms both literal and political.
Video by Rhys Thwaites-Jones and Martin Edström, edited by TED2019
Our Mission
Dragon's blood island
Socotra’s unique history and heritage is under critical threat, and a safe future is far from certain. By undertaking an epic expedition by foot, camels and dhow boats, and using cameras and next-generation storytelling to engage people, we seek to study and help preserve these islands, and also to present an alternative narrative of the Middle East. This is adventure science meets conservation, from the front line of both climate change and regional warfare
Our work on the island so far has been featured by National Geographic, TED, The Wall Street Journal, New Scientist and the BBC, among others.
In the eye of the storm
What can Socotra tell us about the climate crisis, extinction and the human journey?
Socotra is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, and has often been called the “Galapagos of the Indian Ocean.” Of the 825 plant species found on Socotra today, 307—37%— are endemic. The islands play host to as many as 11 unique bird species, and over 90% of reptile and mollusc species are found nowhere else on Earth. In eras gone by, Greek and Arab sailors connected this peculiar and plentiful land with paradise, and inscriptions from Ethiopian, Indian and southern Arabian traders in caves on the island offer important insights into the human history here. Now, with its parent country ravaged by civil war, and an unprecedented change in climate that has led to successive destructive cyclones, Socotra’s future hangs in the balance. Through our work we will not only seek to protect the archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage site, but also to gather important data to contribute to the global battle against climate change too.
Methodology
Adventure science meets conservation and next-generation storytelling
From the front line of both climate change and regional warfare
We bring together a diverse team of experts in their fields to form a large, multi-disciplinary scientific expedition to Socotra; the first such attempt in over twenty years, with the support of world-renowned institutions and using cutting-edge technology. By pursuing a large transect expedition to cover the archipelago we have two primary goals:
Frontline scientific exploration
With a truly multi-disciplinary team of specialists conducting research we want to bring back a more complete understanding of what's happening to Socotra's unique ecosystem and endemism.
Changing the narrative
By engaging top storytellers we will bring the majesty of this island to our audiences all over the globe, sparking interest and care for a truly unique place, while simultaneously helping change the narrative of the Middle East.
The Big Expedition
This is an expedition of epic proportions, on foot and by camel and dhow boats across the archipelago. Our team of local and international experts will cover all corners of Socotra, both terrestrial and marine. We have team members with specialisations ranging from entomology and ethnobotany to climate change and oceanography, and from immersive filmmaking and journalism to virtual reality documentation and 360 degree photography. An expedition of this scale has only been made once before, in 1999, and, with the benefit of new technology and using the data collected from that time, we will be able to show exactly what’s at stake here, and how to help protect it.
Meet the team
Leon McCarron
Leon is a writer, broadcaster and adventurer from Northern Ireland. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Fellow of the Abraham Path Initiative and a BBC presenter. He has written two books and produced three independent films, and specialised in using immersive methods of journalism to find nuance and humanity in misunderstood or demonised parts of the world.
Ella Al-Shamahi
Ella Al-Shamahi is a National Geographic Explorer, a palaeoanthropologist specialising in fossil hunting in caves in unstable, hostile and disputed territories, a TV presenter (BBC/PBS/National Geographic) and also just happens to be a stand-up comic. Ella has a BSc in Genetics from University College London, a MSc in Taxonomy and Biodiversity from the Natural History Museum (London)/Imperial College London and is undertaking a PhD in palaeoanthropology at University College London. Ella was a TED 2019 speaker and is British of Yemeni descent.
Martin Edström
Award-winning National Geographic Explorer and photographer Martin Edström often goes beyond still photography by using immersive tools like 360-video and interactive virtual reality to tell the story. Through numerous expeditions and exploration projects Martin has brought audiences inside the wild and forgotten corners of the world, working on assignment for outlets like National Geographic, New York Times and the Guardian.
Additional key team members include
Rick Stepp
Rick Stepp is a professor at the University of Florida where he teaches in the Department of Anthropology and Tropical Conservation and Development Program. He has conducted biocultural conservation research over the last two decades throughout the tropics and his research explores persistence, change and variation of traditional ecological knowledge and ethnobiology.
Katy Croff Bell
Dr. Katy Croff Bell is the Founding Director of the Open Ocean initiative at the MIT Media Lab, and a Technology Fellow at the National Geographic Society. She is a deep sea explorer with a background in ocean engineering, maritime archaeology, and geological oceanography, and has led dozens of expeditions around the world. Bell is passionate about developing new ways to better understand the ocean and make it more accessible to everyone around the world.
Pearce Paul Creasman
Prof. Pearce Paul Creasman is an archaeologist who specializes in ancient Egypt and Nubia (modern Sudan), maritime archaeology, and study of the ancient environment. Today, his research primarily focuses on understanding ancient human and environmental interactions, especially as it relates to the use and acquisition of natural resources. In recognition of his research, he has been recognized as a fellow of The Explorer's Club, the Royal Geographical Society, and the Linnean Society.
Joe Cutler
Joe Cutler is a National Geographic Explorer, freshwater ecologist and ichthyologist with nearly a decade of field experience. His research is focused in the Central African nations of Gabon and Cameroon, but Cutler has explored freshwater ecosystems from Malawi to Mongolia. Cutler has collected and catalogued over 20,000 fish specimen and documented several undescribed fish species. Cutler is a PhD candidate in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Ahmed Alarqbi
Ahmed Alarqbi is the manager of the Socotri Yemeni Department of Antiquities. He worked with the Russian archaeological mission in Socotra from 2008 to 2014, has a BA in Archaeology from the University of Aden and is specialised in Socotri rock art.
Get involved
Help bring this critical project to life
Our work in Socotra helps protect a fragile and unique ecosystem and heritage, and is only possible with the help of donors like you. By contributing here, you support the fundraising effort for the upcoming expedition, as well as the work required before we go and upon our return.
Note: If you are interested in US tax deductible donations, please message with your details in the box below, and we’ll be in touch when our status as part of a 501(c)(3) is finalised- we expect this to happen next month.
Get in touch
If you're interested in supporting our project or receiving occasional expedition updates be sure to drop us a line!