evidence: Aliyu is eccentric and enigmatic, much like the place he calls home. Socotra, an island archipelago in the Indian Ocean between Somalia and Yemen, is unlike anywhere else: a zoological and botanical treasure trove, and a refugia for relic species that died out long ago elsewhere. Long protected by the traditions and stewardship of Socotrans like Aliyu, the island is now buffeted by geopolitics and rapid development and climate change. Earlier this year, I was part of a four-person team to visit the island and investigate what’s at stake as it faces an uncertain future. [...] Socotra sits at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden, only 60 miles from the horn of Africa. Politically it is governed by Yemen, some 230 miles to the north. Geographical isolation has sculpted Socotra in its unique form. A little less than twenty million years ago, the islands broke free from the Gondwana supercontinent. For those interested in island evolution and biogeography, Socotra has become a fascinating case study. [...] The myriad species that call Socotra home face other threats too. In the fall of 2015 two cyclones battered the archipelago within the space of a week. This was the first time since record-keeping began that such powerful weather systems formed in such close temporal proximity in the Arabian Sea. The infrastructure of Socotra was devastated, and 18,000 people—a third of the population—were displaced.