SAC Research

Pastoralism is fundamental to the existence and maintenance of a wide range of habitats and species of European conservation importance.

However, this type of farming is in decline and urgent action is needed now to:

• describe the extent and distribution of high nature value pastoral systems 
• explain the relationships between pastoral management and nature conservation value
• develop potential policy approaches that can maintain this value in a realistic way  

PASTORAL aimed to meet the requirements listed above and to identify:

• the most important gaps in information and understanding
• the forces causing the trends impacting high nature value pastoral systems (e.g. socio-economic and policy driven)
• priorities for future research

This was achieved by bringing together a wide range of stakeholders including pastoralists, policy experts, agricultural ecologists, socio-economists and agricultural extension workers from across Europe for a series of four workshops.

The PASTORAL Project ran between March 2001 and February 2003 and produced a series of eight Information Notes. The project also produced a video: European Pastoralism - Farming with Nature. For a free copy of the video, please email Davy McCracken.

A detailed description of the rationale behind the project is also available. More information on the importance of grazing in sustaining wildlife can be obtained from the European Forum on Nature Conservation and Pastoralism's website.

Project Number:  N/A

The PASTORAL project is funded by the Commission of the European Communities RTD programme Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources under project reference QLRT-2000-00559.

European Forum on Nature Conservation and Pastoralism, ALTERRA, Institute for European Environmental Policy, Asociacion para el Analisis y Reforma de la Politica Agro-rural (ARPA), Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (UAM), Escola Superior Agraria de Castelo Branco, and Coordination Paysanne Europeenne.