Presentation short abstract

Despite global recognition, pastoralism faces acute threats from environmental, social, and political pressures. This talk uses ethnobiology and political ecology to analyze governance conflicts in pastoral commons and envision sustainable futures for traditional livelihoods.

Presentation long abstract

The United Nations has declared 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, recognizing pastoralists' vital role in ecosystem stewardship, socio-ecological resilience, and rural livelihoods worldwide. Despite this growing recognition, pastoralism faces severe threats from environmental, social, and political pressures worldwide. In European regions where pastoralism has been a traditional livelihood for centuries, these pressures lead to precarious living conditions and a decline in generational succession. While current policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) aim to support rural economies, they often do not sufficiently incentivize care and reciprocity central to pastoralist cultures.

This presentation draws on ethnobiology and political ecology to examine conflicts emerging from divergent governance and management approaches to pastoral commons. Focusing on Navarre, the case study explores how traditional pastoral practices clash with institutional policies. Ethnobiological methods offer empirical insights into complex relationships among humans, animals, and their environment through expressions of traditional knowledge and practices. Political ecology contextualizes the changes in traditional livelihoods by analyzing power dynamics, economic interests, and policy frameworks. For instance, policies have prioritized metrics like animal numbers and land size over the production of valued animal products. This shift has led to the loss of locally important products such as wool and viscera, now often regarded as waste, and contributed to the decline of endemic animal species due to diminished market demand. The presentation concludes by discussing participatory and transdisciplinary approaches that aim to envision and support sustainable futures for pastoralist communities in Europe and beyond.