Herds in the forest and rethinking tourism to adapt the Pyrenees to a future with less snow, emerging fires and more drought

The Pyrenees are warming around 30% faster than average, according to data from the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory (OPCC) of the Pyrenees Working Community. This increase has a major impact on this landscape and, among other things, has accelerated the melting of the Pyrenean glaciers. In Catalonia, for example, there are no more glaciers and in the Pyrenees as a whole, only the Aneto glacier, the Mont Perdut glacier, and some glaciers on the French side survive. But this is not the only change that the high mountains are experiencing. The latest report by NEMOR, the European mountain research network coordinated by CREAF , warns that European mountain regions are also suffering a major demographic decline and rural abandonment, are experiencing an increase in droughts and there is an emerging risk of forest fires , which were previously unlikely in an environment with a lot of humidity. Faced with this new scenario, science is studying various measures to adapt the Pyrenees both on a socioeconomic and environmental level.

Some proposals involve diversifying the economy and not depending so much on snow tourism. Also strengthening agriculture, livestock and the forestry sector, betting on small businesses and cooperatives, and taking advantage of the digital transition to increase local employment, while limiting mass tourism. Other measures focus on conserving threatened species, such as the Pyrenean newt, among others. Bernat Claramunt, CREAF researcher and professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and coordinator of NEMOR is working on some of the proposals.

The increase in temperature, droughts and rural abandonment - which causes bushes and forest to grow where there used to be meadows and crops - have created a dangerous cocktail in mountains that now face a high risk of suffering large forest fires . According to Eduard Pla and Diana Pascual, researchers at CREAF, in this scenario, it is necessary to strengthen agro-silvo-pastoral activity as fire prevention tools, since by generating a mosaic landscape it helps to mitigate the spread of fire.

In this regard, within the framework of Life Pyrenees4Clima – a project to adapt the Pyrenees to climate change, coordinated by the OPCC and co-financed by the European Union – both researchers are working on measures to recover this activity , for example, by promoting native breeds of cattle that are well adapted to the mountains, such as the Albera cow. They are also testing new ways of managing the herd with a regenerative perspective, so that the herd moves in a planned manner through the territory, taking advantage of the pastures in each place at their optimum time; “this way we avoid overgrazing and compacting the soil”, explains Diana Pascual. Furthermore, given the expansion of the senecio del cap in Alt Empordà, its distribution and coverage are being evaluated in an experimental area, to find out the effect on the pastures and the animals.

Some pilot areas where the project in the Pyrenees where these measures are being worked on are the estivas of the Irati Biosphere Reserve in Navarra, the Albera Natural Park in Catalonia, the La Garcipollera Experimental Farm in Aragon, the Vallée de Soule in Nueva-Aquitania and the Basse Cerdagne in Occitania , in collaboration with other entities such as the Public University of Navarra (UPNA), the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE-CSIC) and the Association of Chambers of Agriculture of the Pyrenees (ACAP).

Regarding agricultural activity, the project also works to recover and introduce varieties that are being lost of red fruits such as raspberries, mushrooms such as truffles and aromatic plants such as absinthe, oregano, sage, rosemary and sage . These activities are carried out in collaboration with the Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA) in Aragon.

Another key axis of the project to make the mountain economy more resilient is to improve the trade of pastoral products, both food (meat) and secondary products (wool). In this case, the actions are developed with the support of entities such as the AECT Pirineos-Pyrénées and the Agence des Pyrénées.

Bernat Claramunt also advocates recovering agro-forestry-pastoral activity and encompasses everything in the concept of 'natural capital'. "This capital includes ecosystems and resources, such as forests, pastures, water, biodiversity and the landscape, which sustain both economic activity and social well-being," he comments.

From this global vision, he proposes adapting winter tourism , which is very important in most mountain regions, since, with climate change, “there will be less snow and projects that depend excessively on it will probably not be economically profitable either”. For example, the tourist offer can be diversified with activities such as interpretive hiking, environmental education or the valorization of cultural heritage. He also warns that it is important to improve the management of water resources , “because in a context of future droughts, it is necessary to foresee possible conflicts in the use of water”.

Other specific actions that the researcher is working on to promote natural capital include ski resorts . For example, revegetating degraded slopes with native species or restoring rivers and streams.

This type of proposal, however, can only be effective if it is part of a coordinated strategy at the scale of the entire Pyrenees where the scientific, political and technical communities reach consensus. Along these lines, some of the Life Pyrenees4Clima measures have recently been included in an Opinion on natural and climatic risks in the Pyrenees , the result of consensus between the scientific and technical communities. This Opinion was presented at the 43rd Plenary Council of the Pyrenees Working Community (CTP) and includes a battery of 16 management recommendations to deal with fires and their growing risk.

Other proposals on mountain economy and adaptation also appear in the Puigcerdà Declaration that was made public last year and which, specifically, includes 25 proposals to guarantee the prosperity of Europe's mountain economies.

“Mountains cannot be managed in pieces, but as living socio-ecological systems, where a balance must be found between nature, the economy and people. This management must also be done collaboratively between the various areas and countries involved”, summarizes Bernat Claramunt. The researcher is also involved in other mountain projects and networks that seek to adapt it to the most urgent challenges such as MountResilience and EarthWatch Wildlife in the Andorran Pyrenees (II). He has also recently started CLIMB, a project funded by the Erasmus+ program in which he participates through the UAB ; this initiative seeks to empower women in rural and mountain areas .