Aloe bowiea is known from a very restricted area. Historically, more than 90% of the population occurred between Uitenhage and Coega Kop, with only one other small subpopulation known from near Kirkwood. The Uitenhage-Coega subpopulation has been fragmented by habitat loss to urban expansion, and it is now locally extinct around Despatch. Currently, 190-2550 plants occur in an area to the east of Motherwell township, an area earmarked for development as part of the Coega Industrial Development Zone. In 2018, another large subpopulation of 721-1610 individuals was rediscovered at a historical location near Uitenhage, where the species was previously thought to be extinct (Smith and Van Wyk 1990). A third subpopulation consisting of "a few hundred individuals" (Smith and Van Wyk 1990) was last recorded in the 1980s, and the current status of this subpopulation is not known. Aloe bowiea lost about 3% of its habitat between 1990 and 2014 (calculated using GIS, based on comparative land cover datasets), mainly as a result of the expansion of the Motherwell township. However the impact of overgrazing and collecting on the population cannot be quantified at present, and requires ongoing monitoring of existing subpopulations. About 140 plants were lost to succulent collecting between 1983 and 1988 (Smith and Van Wyk 1990), but recently (2018), more than 1000 plants were recorded in roughly the same area. About 250 plants were lost to quarrying at Coega Kop between 1983 and 1993, but Aloe bowiea was recorded as still present at Coega Kop in 2006, although the number of plants was not reported. It is possible that both remaining subpopulations between Uitenhage and Coega Kop could be lost to habitat loss and degradation in the next 10-15 years, resulting in more than 80% population reduction within three generations, but recent population trends recorded through field monitoring and habitat loss do not support such a projection.

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