A study by the Chair in Agroecology will identify Mediterranean extensive livestock farming’s strategies for adapting to climate change

Researchers from the Chair in Agroecology and Food Systems have begun a project to identify how people who work in extensive livestock farming in Spain are adapting to climate change. The initiative is being undertaken by the Chair's director, Marta Rivera, and the researchers Marina Di Masso, Elisa Oteros and Feliu López, as well as Elsa Valera, at the Center for Agro-food Economy and Development (CREDA-UPC-IRTA). The project is supported by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition, which works to preserve natural heritage and biodiversity, to act against climatic change and to promote the green economy.

The study is based on evidence that extensive livestock farming in the Mediterranean is "a marginalised sector, which is often considered obsolete, and its feasibility is under severe threat, but at the same time it has a great capacity for adaptation," says Marta Rivera. An example of this is its use of resources that would otherwise not be used, such as mountain pasture areas, which according to Feliu López, "contribute to the conservation of the landscape, its biodiversity and cultural identity, and help control forest fires, regulate water cycles and soil quality." Another example is the creation of "healthy local food products of high quality with a cultural tradition, which are increasingly appreciated." For example, Lopez points out that "there is increasing evidence to suggest that suggest that beef from pastured livestock is healthier for the heart."

The researchers will be working until June 2019 on an in-depth examination of these and other adaptation strategies, which according to Lopez, "are based on the traditional knowledge" of extensive livestock farmers. The study will provide a social perspective on this group's situation in a context of global change, and identify the main forces of change in this sector all over Spain, with a particular focus on the Mediterranean area where according to Rivera, "the projections for climate change are very worrying."

The study will be based on interviews carried out with key informants from all over Spain, such as specialist livestock farming associations and government bodies, as well as livestock farmers themselves. The analysis of these interviews, together with a review of the previous literature, will provide some conclusions, which will be presented at seminars organised within the framework of the project by the Spanish Climate Change Office.