• Antonio López-Francos, from CIHEAM Zaragoza’s projects unit, addresses the challenges, transformations and opportunities for pastoralism in the Mediterranean region.
• The article highlights the strategic role of the PASTINNOVA project and the need for policies, training and innovation to transition towards sustainable pastoral systems.

According to estimations, approximately 240 million people across the world earn a living from pastoralism and extensive livestock farming, using pastures covering 54 % of the surface area. In many cases, this takes place in regions where agriculture is a marginal activity due to adverse climatic, topographic or edaphological conditions (arid and semi-arid areas, mountainous zones, cold temperatures or climate or soil conditions making crop production inviable). Given the importance of pastoralism worldwide, 2026 has been declared the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists by the United Nations.

Although there is no universal definition of pastoralism, it is characterised by domestic herbivorous animals travelling long or short distances to graze local resources, such as natural or semi-natural vegetation, forage crops or crop residues, providing public goods and services for society such as removing excess vegetation from woodlands, maintaining biodiversity, and anchoring the rural population in marginal areas.

Shepherds and extensive livestock farmers in the Mediterranean must continually adapt to high spatial and temporal variability, and face considerable uncertainty regarding pasture and water availability, market access and access to land.

RECENT TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION

In the Mediterranean region, pastoralism and extensive livestock farming have evolved over hundreds of years, shaping landscapes and creating complex socioecological systems. However, over the last century, these systems have been subject to significant mutations and disruptions, resulting in marked ecological and socio-economic imbalances.

Extensive livestock systems are gradually shifting away from their traditional focus on maintaining stable herd sizes, ensuring adequate production levels, and maximising income and economic viability. This has often been accompanied by the introduction of exotic breeds or the genetic improvement of local breeds, as well as increased reliance on imported feed. Despite these changes, many systems continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience to environmental variability and persistent uncertainty.

In response to these challenges, and as a result of deeper sociodemographic dynamics, the prevailing trend in the northern Mediterranean has been the abandonment of traditional grazing systems. In contrast, in the southern and eastern parts of the region, shepherds and livestock have undergone a process of sedentarisation, driven largely by changes in land use, where rangelands have been converted to crop production. With the decline in mixed agropastoral models, farmers have relied more on external feed sources, which has also contributed to land degradation.

PASTORALISM AS AN OPTION FOR THE FUTURE: INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY

There are still enormous challenges to be overcome: climate change, land abandonment, lack of rural services and infrastructure, as well as shifting societal expectations regarding rural areas. These pressures are exacerbated by the fragmentation of the social fabric and the erosion of traditional institutions responsible for rangeland governance. As a result, extensive livestock farming has become unprofitable and socially unattractive, contributing to a decline in the farming workforce.

But even in this difficult context, Mediterranean pastoralism and extensive livestock farming systems maintain their essential capacity of adaptation, as reported by the PASTINNOVA project (Innovative models for the sustainable future of Mediterranean pastoral systems) developed by 22 partners from 12 Mediterranean countries between 2023 and 2025, funded by the EU PRIMA programme.

In fact, the main conclusion drawn from PASTINNOVA (coinciding with numerous other projects, cooperatives, organisations and individuals involved in the sector), is that pastoralism and extensive livestock farming are not just relics of the past, confined to black and white photographs. On the contrary, they represent a viable and forward-looking model for a transition towards more resilient and sustainable livestock systems based on local resources and traditional know-how. They are capable of delivering high-quality products and valuable ecosystem services, while also ensuring fair remuneration for shepherds and farmers. This is demonstrated through a large number of individual, collective, and policy-related initiatives identified across the countries participating in the project.

NEW POLICIES TO SUPPORT EXTENSIVE LIVESTOCK FARMING

The project highlights the need for new and adapted policies to enable extensive livestock farming systems to overcome current challenges and realise their full potential. This transformation must take place on an appropriate scale, and be rooted in real-world conditions based on the social and ecosystemic services they provide. In addition, there is an urgent need to revise existing policies and regulatory frameworks, to better accommodate the specific needs and characteristics of pastoralism, not only to strengthen and sustain these grazing systems, but also to minimise their negative impacts. New and updated laws, standards and regulatory frameworks should incorporate a wide range of interconnected issues, including nature and wildlife conservation, forest management, farmer health and welfare, traceability, safety and hygiene of artisanal products, access to land, and the protection and management of common pastures and transhumance routes.

These policy briefs include the White Paper on Mediterranean Pastoralism, a collective document drawn up by the PASTINNOVA project that provides insight, analysis, arguments and examples. It is aimed for decision-makers interested in innovations and policies related to Mediterranean pastoralism.

CAPACITY-BUILDING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR SHEPHERDS

It is essential to support capacity-building and knowledge-sharing processes, working with shepherds and farmers, building on traditional techniques and practices to strengthen their sustainability, and to encourage local initiatives and autonomy in response to present and future challenges. Equally important is the training of professionals capable of facilitating these processes alongside extensive livestock farmers and other relevant stakeholders. These professionals must be equipped to integrate pastoralism into territorial development strategies and market systems, while also addressing global challenges and effectively communicating the needs, strengths and benefits of pastoralism to other stakeholders and to society in general.

PASTINNOVA, coordinated by CIHEAM Zaragoza, has been remarkably active in these issues. The project organised the advanced course «Innovations for the sustainability of Mediterranean pastoral systems» in 2024 with over 30 young professionals, 16 lecturers and facilitators; five international visits for knowledge-sharing with local stakeholders; four regional workshops in four countries, focused on a range of topics; a final scientific conference (organised in Türkiye together with the FAO-CIHEAM Pastures and Forage Crops Networks to discuss silvopastoralism); six specialised technical webinars; and a large number of local meetings to support innovations and present them to other stakeholders in the territories and countries engaged in the project.

Perhaps the part of the project most closely related to CIHEAM’s original mission is the training of agents promoting pastoralism and sustainable extensive livestock farming in territorial development: programme and project managers, field practitioners and related personnel from organisations and administrations, and local opinion-leaders.

KEYS FOR EFFECTIVE TRAINING IN PASTORALISM

Based on the experience of PASTINNOVA and other activities related to courses and networks led by CIHEAM Zaragoza on rangelands and extensive livestock farming, we have identified a number of elements that this training offer should include (also applicable to other areas of agricultural and rural development):

1.- A participatory and intercultural focus, recognising the value of local know-how and promoting the dialogue of knowledge (applying specific techniques).

2.- Contextualised and applied training programmes that match real-world conditions and needs, covering a wide range of specific topics: from animal production to pasture ecology; from market access and business plans to collective land governance and risk mitigation; as well as communication, social organisation, and group capacity-building.

3.- Mainstreaming the participation of women, youth, and other vulnerable groups throughout the training programmes.

4.- Horizontal exchange of experiences and good practices. Peer-to-peer learning is particularly effective and reinforces social cohesion between groups and communities of farmers, pastoralists, development agents, and other actors.

5.- Detection, integration and strengthening of local leadership and involvement of multiplying agents.

6.- Development of a holistic and systemic vision of pastoralism and extensive farming among promotion and development agents, that stretches beyond a linear cause-effect mental framework when dealing with complex situations.

7.- Encouraging willingness to acquire a broad scientific knowledge, including biology, agronomy, forestry, veterinary science, ecology, history, anthropology and socioeconomics. It should also cultivate individuals open to learning from shepherds and practitioners and who are prepared to work in multidisciplinary networks; ability to adapt but also to provide constructive criticism. This open-minded and willing-to-learn attitude will make more sense of the work, and go beyond the mere acquisition of technical knowledge.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a growing interest within society and among young people in pastoralism, seen as a livelihood and way of life that can transition towards sustainable livestock farming, contributing to balanced territorial development and even a space for personal fulfilment within diverse life projects. This interest among young people may or may not stem from family tradition and can be channelled towards direct engagement in livestock farming or towards professional activity in research, promotion or development of pastoralism.

Pastoralism has the potential to become a transformative force in territories based on grazing systems and give rise to new initiatives and communities that demonstrate how this transition is not only possible, but also effective. Training young professionals to take on roles that facilitate this transition is essential to promote pastoralism and make sustainable transformations in the rural world, reinforcing the autonomy and development of rangeland territories and their communities and their capacity to overcome current and future challenges.