Track 3-07: Traditional Knowledge, Practices and Grassland Systems

Description

Extensive livestock rearing has been acknowledged as an important tool for sustainable management of social-ecological systems and biodiversity conservation. In the Mediterranean Basin this relationship has been highlighted in mountainous and rural areas, where the co-evolved assemblages and dynamics of plant communities and grazing practices and patterns are mutually reinforcing. Among extensive livestock rearing systems, mobile pastoralism is a typical adaptation in semi-arid areas and mountainous regions where pasture availability is especially variable in time and space. In Spain, mobile pastoralism dates back to Neolithic and has survived until our days in different ways. An outstanding example of mobility is transhumance, an ancient pastoralist practice consisting of the seasonal migration of livestock between ecological regions following peaks in pasture productivity. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) can provide valuable information that complements scientific studies to improve understanding and stewardship of ecosystems. In particular, transhumance depends on the preservation, use, and transmission of TEK and the integration of TEK into land use and management policies. In this paper, we: (1) provide examples of traditional ecological knowledge related to extensive livestock rearing, and transhumance in particular, that could be useful for grasslands management; (2) explore the current challenges to the integration of this knowledge for Spanish grasslands’ management; and (3) provide insights on how these barriers might be overcome. The evidence is based on two case studies: one in the two westernmost central Pyrenean valleys of Ansó and Hecho (Aragón), where shepherds carry out short valley-mountain and middle-distance transhumance (ca. 200 km); and the other on the summer pasturelands of Montes Universales (Aragón, Guadalajara and Cuenca) from where a long-distance transhumance through the Conquense Drove Road departs (ca. 500 km). In-depth semi-structured interviews, focus groups and participant observation where applied in both cases. We conclude that much of mobile extensive stockmen’s ecological knowledge is threaten due to a lack of generational turnover, endangering the survival of a valuable source of sustainable grassland management knowledge and practices. Social and institutional barriers, including lack of profitability, dependence on EU subsidies, competition with other land-uses such as biodiversity conservation or hunting, and neglect by governments and society, negatively affect the continuity of TEK at different scales. However, some strategies, such as pastoralists’ cooperation in making their voices heard in regional and European policy decisions, or their involvement in monitoring ecological conditions of ecosystems, may foster a modest recovery of transhumance in Spain.

Download

Share

COinS
 

Application of Pastoralists' Knowledge to Natural Resource Management in Spain

Extensive livestock rearing has been acknowledged as an important tool for sustainable management of social-ecological systems and biodiversity conservation. In the Mediterranean Basin this relationship has been highlighted in mountainous and rural areas, where the co-evolved assemblages and dynamics of plant communities and grazing practices and patterns are mutually reinforcing. Among extensive livestock rearing systems, mobile pastoralism is a typical adaptation in semi-arid areas and mountainous regions where pasture availability is especially variable in time and space. In Spain, mobile pastoralism dates back to Neolithic and has survived until our days in different ways. An outstanding example of mobility is transhumance, an ancient pastoralist practice consisting of the seasonal migration of livestock between ecological regions following peaks in pasture productivity. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) can provide valuable information that complements scientific studies to improve understanding and stewardship of ecosystems. In particular, transhumance depends on the preservation, use, and transmission of TEK and the integration of TEK into land use and management policies. In this paper, we: (1) provide examples of traditional ecological knowledge related to extensive livestock rearing, and transhumance in particular, that could be useful for grasslands management; (2) explore the current challenges to the integration of this knowledge for Spanish grasslands’ management; and (3) provide insights on how these barriers might be overcome. The evidence is based on two case studies: one in the two westernmost central Pyrenean valleys of Ansó and Hecho (Aragón), where shepherds carry out short valley-mountain and middle-distance transhumance (ca. 200 km); and the other on the summer pasturelands of Montes Universales (Aragón, Guadalajara and Cuenca) from where a long-distance transhumance through the Conquense Drove Road departs (ca. 500 km). In-depth semi-structured interviews, focus groups and participant observation where applied in both cases. We conclude that much of mobile extensive stockmen’s ecological knowledge is threaten due to a lack of generational turnover, endangering the survival of a valuable source of sustainable grassland management knowledge and practices. Social and institutional barriers, including lack of profitability, dependence on EU subsidies, competition with other land-uses such as biodiversity conservation or hunting, and neglect by governments and society, negatively affect the continuity of TEK at different scales. However, some strategies, such as pastoralists’ cooperation in making their voices heard in regional and European policy decisions, or their involvement in monitoring ecological conditions of ecosystems, may foster a modest recovery of transhumance in Spain.