BBC Learning English
Words in the News
Frankincense under threat, says study

26

th

December 2011

Words in the News

© British Broadcasting Corporation 2011

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bbclearningenglish.com

Researchers in the Netherlands say that frankincense, a significant item in the Christmas
story, faces an uncertain future. In the Journal of Applied Ecology, they warned that the
production of the fragrant substance could decline by half over the next 15 years. The
BBC's Victoria Gill reports:

Frankincense is burned in religious ceremonies throughout the world. The sweet-smelling
incense is produced from resin tapped from the Boswellia tree, which grows in the
drylands of Africa and the Arabian peninsula.

But this delicate tree is struggling to sustain itself.

The team monitored the survival and growth of more than 6,000 Boswellia trees in
Ethiopia. They used the data to model the changing population of the trees and
discovered that this was declining dramatically.

Tapping trees for resin doesn't affect their survival at all. Instead, young trees often fail
to get established as they're eaten by livestock or pushed out by faster-growing
species.

The scientists say that Boswellia plantations should be carefully protected for up to 10
years while the saplings mature. Measures like this could safeguard the future of a
product that's been traded since long before the time of the Christmas story.

Victoria Gill, BBC News

Words in the News

© British Broadcasting Corporation 2011

Page 2 of 2

bbclearningenglish.com

Vocabulary and definitions

resin

sticky substance that runs inside the trunk of trees

drylands

areas with a small amount of moisture

struggling to sustain itself

having difficulty in keeping alive

monitored

watched carefully

to model the changing
population

to make a projection of the number of specimens in the
future

declining

reducing

livestock

farm animals

pushed out

forced out of the area

safeguard

protect

traded

bought and sold

More on this story:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16270759

Read and listen to the story and the vocabulary online:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2011/12/111226_witn_frankincense.shtml