Twenty years of biodiversity research and nature conservation in the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen)
The topical collection ‘Twenty years of biodiversity research and nature conservation in the Socotra Archipelago’, in short ‘Socotra biodiversity research and nature conservation’ was conceived at the 18th Friends of Socotra annual meeting and Socotra conference which took place at the Orto Botanico di Palermo, Palermo, Italy, 26–29 September, 2019. In total, 13 research papers are included in the
collection, which covers a selection of the latest scientific progress on the fauna and flora of the terrestrial and aquatic environments of the Socotra Archipelago UNESCO World Heritage Site (Yemen). Topics include conservation, taxonomy, ecology, biology and biogeography. The focus is mainly on biodiversity conservation and aimed at identifying current challenges, trends and processes that may impact on local ecosystems and livelihoods, based on analysis of data collected over the last decades. With this collection, we wish to emphasise the importance of taking into account science-based conservation approaches in future strategic steps towards safeguarding the ecosystems of Socotra.