Action for Communities in Telecare and Integration of Populations Vulnerable to Natural Risks
- Project start: 12/01/2025
- End of the project: 05/31/2028
- Principal researcher: Isabel Albizu
- Department: CRN
- Financing: Europe
- Programme: Interreg
- Call: Atlantic Arc
- Reference: EAPA_0074/2024 – ACTIV-N
- Acronym: ACTIV_N
- Total consortium budget: €2,884,403.48
- NEIKER budget: €197,987.92
- Partners: European Regions Network for the Application of Communications Technology (Ireland), University of Vigo (Spain), University of Galway (Ireland), UPV/EHU (Spain), University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), ATLANTIC PONTE 2000 SL (Spain), GIP Gérontopôle Nouvelle-Aquitaine (France), Associação de Defesa do Património de Mértola (Portugal), National Institute of Agricultural and Veterinary Research (Portugal), Forestry Association of Portugal (Portugal), Ministry of Social Policy and Equality (Spain), NEIKER (Spain)
General objective
To counteract the risk of fires caused by the abandonment of agricultural activity and the climate emergency context in which we live. To this end, a pilot area is being developed in Arriaran (Beasain, Gipuzkoa) where active land management strategies are promoted, such as the promotion of grazing, with the participation and inclusion of local inhabitants.
Specific Objectives
- Develop a grazing plan to be implemented in areas identified as vulnerable to fire risk. The type of livestock will be adapted to existing habitats, and efforts will be made to identify the most appropriate livestock breeds for this task, prioritizing native breeds due to their hardiness and adaptation to the environment. Stocking rates, grazing schedules, and spatial and temporal rotational grazing will be defined, with the aim of reducing fuel biomass while enhancing biodiversity.
- Implement a monitoring plan using ecological, social, and economic indicators, which will allow, based on the results, adaptive management strategies.
- Development of digital cartography (GIS) associated with both plans.
Results
The expected results are linked to the ecological and socioeconomic approach to the territory and the combined vision of both.
In this way, the risk of forest fires is expected to be reduced by reducing the accumulation of flammable biomass through targeted grazing, as well as by creating more heterogeneous landscapes (greater structural complexity and connectivity) that act as natural firebreaks, hindering the spread of fire. Finally, it is hoped that this will improve access for firefighting teams through the restoration of rural roads and firebreaks.
The flammable load will also be reduced by organizing, classifying, and protecting existing timber resources in disused farmhouses (which account for approximately 30% of the total built stock in that area), centralizing resources in various centers scattered throughout the area. The materials thus stored will be used to rehabilitate other elements of the built stock as they come into use. Once in use, the inhabitants themselves will be responsible for the care of this immediate environment.
At the same time, it is hoped to provide a socioeconomic boost by creating employment opportunities in the livestock sector and promoting generational renewal through the transmission of traditional knowledge among the local population and new stakeholders. This will also foster active aging among the local population, integrating them into territorial management decisions.
