Abstract
Wildfires are one of the most prominent risks for Mediterranean forests, reducing the flow of ecosystem services and representing a hazard for infrastructure and human lives. Several wildfire prevention programs in southern Europe are currently incorporating extensive livestock grazers in fire prevention activities to reduce the high costs of mechanical clearance. Among these the Andalusian network of grazed fuel breaks, the so-called RAPCA program, stands out for its dimension and stability over time. RAPCA currently works with 220 local shepherds who, with their guided flocks maintain low biomass levels in almost 6000 ha of fuel breaks in public forests to meet fire prevention standards. This work analyses the institutional design and performance of the RAPCA payment scheme under a payment for environmental services (PES) framework. Results show effectiveness of the payment scheme while efficiency is achieved through savings relative to the mainstream mechanized biomass removal, as well as through reduced information asymmetry. High-level and stable political commitment has been crucial for the emergence and consolidation of RAPCA. Moreover, key intermediaries and sound monitoring practices increased levels of trust amongst involved actors. Beneficial side-effects include social recognition of shepherds’ activities and reduction of their friction with forest managers.
Highlights
Wildfires are one of the most important threats to European Mediterranean forest ecosystems and are expected to become larger and more severe due to fuel accumulation and drier climatic conditions [1]
RAPCA is a scheme where local shepherds that provide wildfire prevention services through targeted grazing are remunerated by the regional administration on behalf of the Andalusian society according to the biomass reduction accomplished, acting as a proxy for wildfire risk reduction
In the Mediterranean basin, a series of initiatives have arisen in the last decades that try to incorporate livestock grazing into wildfire prevention activities
Summary
Wildfires are one of the most important threats to European Mediterranean forest ecosystems and are expected to become larger and more severe due to fuel accumulation and drier climatic conditions [1]. The so-called fire paradox (increase in biomass due to low levels of forest management and successful fire suppression) and lengthier dry periods are leading to increasingly severe wildfires that threaten forest ecosystems and infrastructure and human lives [4,5,6,7]. This section introduces some features related to wildfires, pastoralism and the relationship between pastoralism and forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean that are relevant to an understanding of the case study analysis in the broader socio-institutional context. A wide array of ecosystem services flowing to society will be interrupted or diminished due to the existence of wildfires [6]
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