Presentation short abstract

This talk examines the different attitudes of animal herders and wildland firefighters towards emergency responses and wildfire prevention strategies, comparing across three Mediterranean case study areas in Italy and Spain. The focus is on local fire practices, prescribed fire and targeted grazing.

Presentation long abstract

This talk draws on findings from my PhD research to examine differences in wildfire prevention strategies across three case study areas: Monte Pisano (Tuscany, Italy), the Aurunci and Ausoni Mountains (Lazio, Italy), and Sant Llorenç del Munt (Catalunya, Spain).

The study areas are distinct geographical locations, thematically connected by the pyro- and socio-geographical changes associated with rural abandonment, Mediterranean vegetation, climate change, mountainous terrain, and extensive animal herding practices associated with either pastoral tradition, target grazing programmes, or neoruralism. These features have profoundly impacted wildfire behaviour, risk leves, and fire management strategies.

The presentation compares the different attitudes of local people, especially firefighters and animal herders, towards roles and responsibilities in emergency response systems and landscape management across the three case studies, focusing on local fire practices, prescribed fire, and targeted grazing.

Across the three areas, differing attitudes have resulted in a wide variety of strategies in fire prevention and emergency response. While significant challenges and risk factors remain in place in Monte Pisano and Sant Llorenç del Munt, a positive attitude towards preventive practices, paired with the involvement of local communities, is showing the potential to lead local fire management services out of the firefighting trap and towards the (re)establishment of a balanced fire regime.

In contrast, in the Aurunci Mountains, a significant investment in wildfire suppression and securitarian measures, paired with tension between institutions and sections of the local population, is engendering the opposite effect, giving rise to a maladaptive social-ecological system and a seemingly perpetual fire crisis.