Ecopastoral diagnosis of extensive livestock farming in Montsec and Boumort mountain ranges, Lleida Pre-Pyrenees and the rest of the Spanish Pre-Pyrenees. Management for the improvement of associated ecosystem services.
The rural exodus and abandonment of extensive livestock farming have led to the disappearance of flocks and shepherds in many areas, causing ecological problems (landscape homogenization, risk of fires, loss of biodiversity) and economic problems (loss of sustainable resources). This situation can be reversed by recovering shepherding activities, which is an effective tool to create landscape mosaics and eliminate fuel biomass, contributing to the prevention of fires. In addition, shepherding contributes to improving the socio-economic development of rural areas.
In this context, PREPAST project aims to recover extensive shepherding in the Pre-Pyrenees, one of the most abandoned areas of the NE peninsula, to promote bioeconomy, and ecological transition and fight against rural land abandonment and gender gap. The project will be developed in natural areas included in Natura 2000 Network, Lleida’s pre-Pyrenees and the Montsec and Boumort ‘s mountain range.
PREPAST will determine and prioritize strategic areas to promote extensive shepherding, prevent fires and encourage biodiversity. In addition, the project will design a toolkit of resources for administration and landowners to enhance socioeconomic networks and fix the population in these areas by promoting job opportunities in shepherding. Likewise, the use of a “Ramat de foc” badge that certifies support for the control of the risk of fires carried out by local herds will give added value to the products of the participating farms. Also, to strengthen other niches with activities linked indirectly to the forestry area, the project will promote local agrotourism activities.
PREPAST is supported by Fundación Biodiversidad del Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (MITECO) within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), financed by the European Union – Next GenerationEU.
