Resilient Landscapes and Societies
Analysis of landscape, social and cultural factors to propose strategic management actions, to create landscapes and societies adapted to wildfires
‘Ramats de Foc‘
During 2024, we’ve continued to consolidate ‘Ramats de Foc’ (Fire Flocks), a project focused on prescribed silvopastoralism in strategic areas for fire prevention. In addition to securing new funding, the project team also carried out tasks related to promoting and preserving extensive livestock farming for wildfire risk management.
In 2024, we consolidated Ramats de Foc‘s presence in the Montnegre-Corredor Natural Park to help reduce the risk of wildfires, promote biodiversity, and boost the sale of local livestock products. This funding was provided thanks to CaixaBank’s 2023 Environment grants, which support projects aimed at enhancing natural heritage. We also managed to recruit 10 livestock farmers to Ramats de Foc.
Likewise, through the Foundation, the Ramats de Foc team was involved in the PREPAST and RUMIAR projects, funded by Fundación Biodiversidad. PREPAST aims to promote extensive livestock farming in the Lleida Pre-Pyrenees, and specifically, the Ramats de Foc team is responsible for the restoration of livestock infrastructure such as corrals and drinking troughs, and encourages the incorporation of new livestock farmers in the Montsec and Boumort areas. RUMIAR aims to create an agroforestry mosaic landscape in the Prades Mountains (Tarragona) and, in turn, boost the local economy through forest resources. Here, we contribute to the improvement of the local livestock sector, promoting extensive livestock farming and local products.
In 2024, we began collaborating with Bombers Solidaris on the Mànegues pel Clima project. The project recycles punctured and unused fire station hoses to make keychains and other textile products, such as belts and cattle collars. The proceeds from the sale of these products go to Ramats de Foc.
It’s also worth noting that the project enjoyed the collaboration of organizations such as the global marketing company MCI, which made a donation to the project; the Arrels magazine, whose new subscribers could choose Ramats de Foc as the project to which they could donate part of their subscription cost; and the Sònar festival, which, as in 2023, contributed part of the proceeds from VIP ticket sales to the project. See Ramats de Foc‘s collaborating organizations here.
We also participated in the development of Boscos de Pastura, a guide by the Barcelona Provincial Council to promote sustainable forest management through silvopasture. We also created educational content about dogs that protect flocks.
Finally, we continued to support and bring together all public and private stakeholders interested in maintaining pastures in forested areas, bringing together their needs and coordinating a chain of production and consumption of food from livestock herds that provides added value in fire prevention in strategic forest areas. In this regard, we participated in events, fairs, and technical workshops (follow-up on X) aimed at sharing knowledge and promoting coordinated actions that contribute to strengthening and preserving extensive livestock farming.
Other projects and technical contracts
‘Foc i Biodiversitat’ at the Alta Garrotxa
Period: 2024-2028
Funding: Fons de Patrimoni Natural (Generalitat de Catalunya)
Coordination: Pau Costa Foundation
The Alta Garrotxa natural area is vulnerable to wildfires due to the effects of climate change, its abundant vegetation, and its complex terrain. To address this problem, the ‘Foc i Biodiversitat‘ project aims to increase the socio-ecological resilience of this valuable ecosystem through sustainable management practices for fire prevention and biodiversity conservation. In December 2024, we launched this integrated project, which includes six lines of action: a prescribed burning program; a plan to promote extensive livestock farming; the renaturalization of the area; the impact of fire on biodiversity; and the use of public spaces.
FIREPRIME
Period: 2024-2026
Funding: DG ECHO
Coordination: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Website: FIREPRIME
Wildfires are becoming increasingly problematic in Europe, with recent unprecedented events causing extensive damage near settlements in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). These fires pose complex challenges for civil protection, highlighting the lack of awareness and preparedness among affected communities. FIREPRIME, which we launched in February 2024, aims to establish an EU-wide program to promote fire resilience in WUI communities. During 2024, work began on pilots in three European regions—Sant Cugat (Spain), Tyrol (Austria), and Gothenburg (Sweden)—to create a wildfire home resilience assessment app and other materials to help prepare homes, communities, and infrastructure for wildfires.
PREPAST
PREPAST started in 2024, seeking to restore extensive grazing in the Lleida Pre-Pyrenees, one of the most depopulated areas in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula, to promote the region’s bioeconomy, the ecological transition, and combat rural depopulation and the gender gap. The project is being carried out in natural areas within the Natura 2000 Network in the Lleida Pre-Pyrenees and in the Montsec and Boumort mountains. The project will determine and prioritize strategic areas for promoting extensive livestock farming to prevent wildfires and foster biodiversity. The Foundation will contribute to restoring infrastructure such as corrals and drinking troughs, recruiting new farmers, and creating audiovisual material to promote the project and its results.
CARMINE
Period: 2024-2028
Funding: Interreg POCTEFA (UE)
Coordination : Administratia Nationala de Meteorologie
Website: CARMINE
The frequency and intensity of extreme weather and climate events associated with anthropogenic climate change are increasing, and will challenge us in terms of local-level adaptation strategies. CARMINE bridges the local and regional scales by providing impact-based decision support services and multi-level climate governance that supports local adaptation, including both traditional and nature-based solutions. The overall objective is to help metropolitan communities in Europe become more climate resilient by co-producing knowledge-based tools, strategies, and plans to enhance adaptation and mitigation actions in line with the EU 2030 Climate Change Adaptation Mission. In 2024, the project was launched and, we initiated a Living Lab Barcelona case study.
Desbosigem!
Period: 2024-2027
Funding: Interreg POCTEFA (UE)
Coordination: Centre de Formation Professionnelle et de Promotion Agricole Ariège Comminges
Website : Desbosiguem!
In the current context of climate change, the Pyrenees continue to face significant challenges in the management of wildland-urban interface areas, especially in former agricultural plots now colonized by vegetation. Desbosigem! offers comprehensive solutions to help managers of these spaces (natural parks, public administrations, residents) manage them sustainably, reducing the risk of fires and actively contributing to climate change adaptation. Two fire simulation models are planned to prioritize prevention actions, as well as two technical guides on the opening and maintenance of open spaces through clearing, silvopasture, and prescribed burning. Since April 2024, stakeholders from Catalonia, Andorra, and Occitania (natural parks, land managers, forestry schools, and research institutes) have been working together in several cross-border Pyrenean valleys. The Foundation and the Alt Pirineu Natural Park are leading the development of the park’s Fire Prevention Plan.
BIO FOR PIRI
Period: 2024-2025
Funding : Fundación Biodiversidad
Coordination : Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera
Website: BIO FOR PIRI
In the Pre-Pyrenees, rural abandonment has resulted in an unmanaged landscape that, in the current context of climate change, is becoming a critical scenario for extreme wildfires. Since 2024, BIO FOR PIRI aims to address key factors for the prevention of extreme wildfires and promote the social bioeconomy in the Pre-Pyrenees regions. The project is being implemented in Alinyà-La Seu d’Urgell (Lleida) and Aínsa-Sobrarbe (Huesca). It works at two scales: a regional scale, in which action criteria for the prevention of extreme forest fires throughout the Pre-Pyrenees are planned and defined; and pilot areas, in each of which the PCF is developing planning related to the use of fire as a management tool, as well as the prevention of large fires.
Wild Pre-Pyrenees
Period: 2023-2025
Funding: Endangered Landscapes and Seascapes program
Coordination: Pau Costa Foundation
Website: Wild Pre-Pyrenees
The objective of this project is to develop a plan for the restoration of biodiversity and absent and degraded ecological processes in the western Catalan Pre-Pyrenees. The project will analyze the feasibility of restoring key processes such as a sustainable fire regime (combining prescribed fires and managed fires), the functionality of herbivory (combining domestic silvopasture with large wild herbivores), the dynamics of river networks and floodplains, and the prevention of conflicts with wildlife or the management of scavengers (naturalizing food sources). The outcome will be proposals to increase landscape resilience to climate change and foster economies based on the regeneration of natural capital (regenerative agriculture, ecotourism, and crafts).
Vall de la Muga
Period: 2024
Promoting entity: Centre de la Propietat Forestal
The objective of this project has been to integrate prescribed silvopasture into joint forest planning for the prevention of large wildfires. Thus, in the Muga Valley, methodologies were applied to identify grazable areas (image on the left), analyzing variables such as slope, habitats, accessibility, water availability, and strategic fire management zones. Also drawing on historical information and information from local livestock farmers, a plan was developed that facilitates the integration of these areas into the Joint Technical Plans for Forest Management and Improvement (Planes Técnicos de Gestión y Mejora Forestal Conjuntos, PTGMFc).
Wildfire Risk Awareness Good Practice Note
Period: 2023-2024
Promoting entity: DG ECHO
Juntamente con el Centro de Ciencia y Tecnología Forestal de Catalunya (CTFC), se está desarrollando una recolección y análisis de buenas prácticas en materia de concienciación del riesgo de incendios, centrada principalmente en Europa, pero con ejemplos de otros países internacionales.
Asistencia técnica de aplicabilidad de soluciones alternativas para la urbanización de River Park (Pont de Vilomara, Barcelona)
Period: 2023-2024
Promoting entity : Diputació de Barcelona, Ajuntament del Pont de Vilomara i Rocafort
In 2022, the River Park development suffered a major wildfire that directly impacted the community, causing extensive property damage. Following the fire, the Pau Costa Foundation, at the request of the city council, created a working group comprised of firefighters, the Fire Prevention Service, Rural Agents, Civil Protection, Aigües de Manresa, the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), MEDI XXI, the City Council, and the Barcelona Provincial Council to assess the applicability and impact of potential alternative solutions to reduce fire risk in River Park and other similar developments. This project was completed in mid-2024, yielding highly significant results for improving fire prevention measures in high-risk developments.