The Decline and Revitalisation of Transhumance in the Valles Occidentales of Spain’s Aragonese Pyrenees

Abstract

This case study of the decline and revitalisation of transhumance in the Valles Occidentales challenges the dominant narrative that transhumance is a practice of the past without present-day relevance and viability. Drawing from interviews and participant observation with current and former transhumant herders in 2010 and 2018, this case illustrates that transhumance remains an important adaptation to take advantage of varying forage availability over space and time, using a production system that is more profitable than semi-extensive management with winter stable feeding. Social concerns, rising winter-forage costs and declining labour availability led most herders in the Valles to abandon transhumance in the 1980s. In the 2010s, increasing profitability, changing technology and increasing cooperation facilitated revitalisation, while shifting social norms and gender roles both facilitated and challenged continuity of transhumance. This case study suggests a number of interventions that could support revitalisation and continued viability of transhumance in other regions of Spain.

Keywords

• pastoralism
• gender
• adoption of innovations
• school for shepherds
• rural depopulation