This ambitious project has a total budget of over €1.8 million and has been approved and co-financed by the Biodiversity Foundation and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
From the Foundation for Participatory Sustainability (FUNPASOS), we are pleased to announce the official launch of the project TRASVÍAS (Transformation and Renaturalisation of Transhumance Areas for the Sustainability of Livestock Routes in Spain). This initiative represents a major step towards the conservation of our natural and cultural heritage, seeking to highlight the value of an age-old practice that is fundamental to the ecological balance of our regions.
Transhumance is an age-old practice that sustains unique ecosystems, promotes biodiversity and forms a key part of Spain’s cultural heritage. TRASVIAS addresses the need to modernise and protect these routes by equipping them with sustainable infrastructure (smart water tanks, eco-friendly resting places, etc.) and by fostering scientific knowledge, public engagement and opportunities for rural and tourism development.
The project has been approved under the grant scheme of the Biodiversity Foundation, en régimen de concurrencia competitiva para el apoyo a programas y proyectos de impulso a la bioeconomía, y está financiado por el European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). To carry out its work, TRASVÍAS has a substantial budget, amounting to a total of 1.816.224,53 euros, for which the aid granted amounts to 1.434.039 €.
A joint effort to protect our green infrastructure
Para llevar a cabo esta labor, desde FUNPASOS actuaremos como entidad coordinadora. No estaremos solos en este camino: el proyecto se desarrollará a través del consorcio que incluye a ADENEX, the Fundación Oxígeno and the Fundación para la Trashumancia y Naturaleza.
It will mainly take place in the autonomous communities of Extremadura, Castile-La Mancha, Andalusia and Castile and León, along the Cañada Real Leonesa Occidental and other livestock trails currently in use.
The main aim of TRASVÍAS is restore ecological connectivity and the functionality of livestock tracks as green infrastructure. In doing so, we aim to support transhumance as a sustainable practice that not only provides essential ecosystem services and promotes rural development, but also preserves tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
To achieve this objective, the project sets out a series of strategic actions divided into different areas:
- Environmental initiatives. We will carry out the direct renaturalisation of livestock trails, using transhumance itself as a key element in ecosystem restoration, whilst also conducting an in-depth study of its impact on biodiversity.
- Support for livestock farming. Strategic water points (cisterns) and resting places will be created and installed to facilitate the movement of herds. In addition, the ‘Transhumance Office’ will be set up, alongside the development of new mapping and pilot governance projects.
- Social and cultural engagement. We will set up an environmental volunteering programme to restore critical areas and promote tourism through trade fairs and the creation of a tourism package linked to transhumance.
The launch of TRASVÍAS marks a turning point in our commitment to rural development and biodiversity.
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(c) Verdehesa