About the project

The pastoral community, a partner in this research, conducts its activities in the Coroa and Montesinho Mountains, a unique area for studying adaptive responses to environmental and social changes. The extensive grazing of local breeds of small ruminants is an ancestral practice in the Park, based on a traditional pastoral route system and deeply influenced by supra- and meso-Mediterranean bioclimatic conditions.

This activity provides a sense of identity for local communities, ensures food security, plays an important role in the local economy, and contributes to landscape management and biodiversity conservation. The presence of extensive pastoralism in this protected area directly impacts seven of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations for this decade.

The pastoral activity is particularly vulnerable to climate and landscape changes, threatening its viability and the continuity of the socio-ecological systems to which pastoral communities belong. Although the history of pastoralism has been one of constant adaptation to overcome environmental dynamics, in the Montesinho Natural Park, adapting to new climate threats and the future of the pastoral community is marked by uncertainty.