[5] The formation of the Socotra governorate is linked to the desire of Socotrans for greater political autonomy and direct governance.

During the Arab Spring in 2011, Socotrans expressed opposition to the proposed "Socotra Authority", advocating for the archipelago to be integrated more closely into the mainland's administrative structure.

This change was aimed at ensuring that all funds allocated to Socotra would reach its elected local councils directly, rather than being channeled through Hadhramaut, where they feared embezzlement or misallocation[6] Since December 2013, it has been a governorate of its own.

[7] On 30 April 2018, the United Arab Emirates, as a part of the ongoing Yemen Civil War, deployed troops and took administrative control of Socotra Airport and seaport.

The archipelago was once part of the supercontinent of Gondwana and detached during the Miocene epoch, in the same set of rifting events that opened the Gulf of Aden to its northwest.

They counted nearly 700 endemic species, found nowhere else on earth; only New Zealand,[24] Hawaii, New Caledonia, and the Galápagos Islands have more impressive numbers.

[25] The long geological isolation of the Socotra archipelago and its fierce heat and drought have combined to create a unique and spectacular endemic flora.

Its red sap was thought to be the dragon's blood of the ancients, sought after as a dye, and today used as paint and varnish.

The Socotran pipistrelle (Hypsugo lanzai) is the only species of bat, and mammal in general, thought to be endemic to the island.

[32] Over the 2,000 years of human settlement on the islands, the environment has slowly but continuously changed, and, according to Jonathan Kingdon, "the animals and plants that remain represent a degraded fraction of what once existed.

"[27] The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea states that the island had crocodiles and large lizards, and the present reptilian fauna appears to be greatly diminished since that time.

Now there are sand gullies in place of rivers, and many native plants survive only where there is greater moisture or protection from roaming livestock.

The island was recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a world natural heritage site in July 2008.

The European Union has supported such a move, calling on both UNESCO and the International Organisation of Protecting Environment to classify the island archipelago among the major environmental heritages.

Socotra Airport is located about 12 kilometres (7+1⁄2 miles) west of the main city, Hadibu, and close to the third-largest town in the archipelago, Qād̨ub.