Communities in Spain's northwestern Galicia region are reintroducing native livestock, including nimble Cachena cows, to clear flammable undergrowth and mitigate wildfire risks following severe blazes, as reported by Yahoo on July 23.

Mass planting of industrial pine and eucalyptus, paired with rural migration, previously left local terrain untended and highly vulnerable to fire. In response, collective land management associations revived centuries-old grazing techniques to control vegetation density.

Regional association BOAGA recorded that native livestock numbers surged from roughly 1,800 in the late 1990s to over 30,000 by early 2026. The population of Cachena cows—the Iberian peninsula's smallest breed, suited for rugged terrain—grew from 400 to nearly 8,000 during this period, supported by regional government incentives and low-cost breeding bulls.

"The native livestock keeps scrubland at an appropriate height so it does not become dangerous," said Jose Taboada, coordinator of the Vincios land collective.

Taboada pointed to land cleared of volatile plants like brambles, gorse, and broom, which usually ignite rapidly and spread flames into tree canopies. Equipped with GPS collars instead of physical fences, the livestock roam freely to control growth without wiping out vegetation.

"They are perfectly adapted to terrain like ours," Taboada said.

Vincios is one of approximately 3,000 collective land management communities in Galicia that oversee 700,000 hectares—about a quarter of the region's total land area—under a system formalized in 1989. The initiative follows devastating fires in 2025 that burned nearly 119,000 hectares across Galicia, an area double the size of Madrid.

While climate change drives rising temperatures and harsher fire seasons across southern Europe, forestry experts advocate combining natural grazing with mechanical thinning, pruning, and controlled burns led by specialists.

"Livestock farmers need to earn a living by producing meat, or milk. But our common-land communities care about land stewardship," Taboada said. "This area has always burned... the livestock allow us to keep the woodland open, managed, and under control."

Source - https://www.sekbernews.id