In addition to its unique biological features Socotra is also characterised by a singular traditional culture, which includes the special non-written language Soqotri, and a number of traditional habits and ceremonies. Although not much is known about the early time of immigration, the island has probably been inhabited by humans for about three thousand years.

The total population of the island is not known exactly. Officially estimated at 80 000, the real figure is probably much lower. Most people live in the coastal plains, and engage mainly in fishing and trade, while the mountain people of the interior, which are considered to be the earliest settlers, are subsistence farmers and pastoralists. They are semi-nomadic and some of them inhabit caves during several months of the year.

The most important elements of the local economy are the production of livestock and coastal fishery. A number of families practise subsistence farming with small-scale production of fruits and vegetables for local consumption, but the harsh climate restricts such cultivation to certain areas. Furthermore there are handicrafts in the form of carpet weaving, basket making and pottery. Traditional activities include storage of fish, harvesting and storage of dates in animal leather, collection of honey from beehives, manufacturing and dying of wool for tablecloths and bedcovers. Especially the mountain dwellers have a thorough knowledge of the flora, and many plants have traditional uses, such as providing livestock fodder, fuel, building materials, foods, gums, or resins. Plant extracts are also used in medicines, cosmetic, hygiene preparations, as a source of insecticide, in tanning and dyeing.

Nevertheless, in economic development Socotra has lagged seriously behind the mainland of Yemen. At present there is only a provisional road system, which consists of a series of bulldozed tracks, and electricity is available only for a few hours a day in the main coastal settlements. Medical services are not more than very basic. The only hospital in Hadibo is still poor in facilities and services. Predominant health problems include malaria, respiratory diseases, especially tuberculosis, intestinal illness, malnutrition and birth-associated disorders. Rural water supply mainly consists of open hand-dug wells and some centrifugal pumps. Only around Hadibo and in the Wadi Ayhaft is there a water supply with help of water cistern in the mountains and an extended pipe system. Because of the lack of any special filtration and water quality control there exists a permanent potential danger of water-borne diseases. Side effects of this more comfortable water supply are an increased quantity of waste water, and the support of mosquito breeding in water ponds formed by the leakage from pipelines. Rural sanitation is not existent, and defecation in the open is commonly practised. Solid waste which mostly consists of metal cans and plastic with reduced amounts of organic materials is usually discharged unhesitatingly into the environment. Organic parts are eaten by vultures and goats, and probably thanks to them the waste dumps are not infested with rats. Even more extreme and more basic is the situation for the people living on Samha and Abd al Kuri.

Despite or because of these comparatively poor living conditions principles of co-operation, self-help and community labour are well established, and there is also a whole range of relevant traditional rules and practices which are of ecological importance. These "unwritten laws" include regulations which control the cutting of live wood, forbid the use of other than dead wood as firewood, regulate grazing and the cutting of vegetation as fodder and preserve important fruit bearing trees. Traditionally the local people practise rotational grazing, and the practice of transplanting and sowing certain plants and protecting them from livestock while they grow has been known and applied for a long time. All important problems are discussed and decided during meetings of local councils.

The opening of the island has stimulated plans to improve the living conditions and infrastructure, such as Socotra Sea Port, Socotra Airport, Roads Development, Socotra Electricity and Water Supply, Medical Care and Education. In the meanwhile two of these "key" projects - the improvement of the airfield and the construction of a sea port near to Hadibo - have already been realised to a large extent, but without an environmental impact assessment. Both will lead to an increasing influx of goods and technical facilities. The growth in the number of 4-wheel drive vehicles during the last years is already a visible consequence, and a powerful stimulant to further development. Because also on Socotra the motor vehicle will become one of the most potent symbols of social and economic change. As a consequence there will be not only more excessive vehicle use on a widening network of tracks, but vehicles will carry also an increasing range and quantity of goods, water, purchased feed and weighty building materials from the larger settlements to the surroundings and back. Great risks will also result from an indiscriminate import and use of chemicals, such as fertilisers, pesticides or detergents.

But not less important are social aspects. As a result of economic development the traditional activities will change, the traditional life style will become less attractive and the dependence of the people on local resources will greatly diminish. This may have the consequence that their knowledge and their understanding of the value of these resources will also diminish with a consequent lessening of interest in using them with traditional skill and wisdom. Exchange of goods and services between coastal and mountain people is common and forms a bond that links the different parts of the island. But also these traditional exchanges will become less important than they were because more and more local goods will be replaced by imports.

The traditional patterns of work may also alter by an increase in labour migration and remittance money. Accumulation of possessions usually leads to greater individualism in many spheres of life, resulting in the abandonment of the self-imposed restraints on the exploitation of natural resources. People think in terms of the short-term advantages to be gained from an immediate exploitation of available resources. In this connection also the ownership of land, up to now settled by traditional agreements, will become another dimension. It can not be foreseen how far the economic changes will affect the existing forms of living together, and how far it will be possible to control the negative effects of "individualism" whilst encouraging the positive aspects of private enterprise. A first idea of possible conflict in the future is given by the situation in the vicinity of the larger coastal settlements, such as Hadibo and Qalansiyah, where life has already become more commercially oriented. Even if there are no great changes visible yet, it seems that wood gathering occurs more systematically with the increased demand of timber for better housing. There are also localised grazing impacts and first signs of a waste problem.

These are only a few examples of the natural factors and socio-economic processes which are linked in a complex and net-like manner, making the process of development and any prediction for the future difficult. Undoubtedly the Millennium marks a crucial turning point for the Archipelago, which represents a fragile ecosystem. Any inappropriate development might also have unwanted side effects that could damage the delicate ecological balance of the islands, risking much more than the survival of many of the endemic species.