Vulnerability and Complexity of traditional livestock systems in Spain (With Irene Perez-Ibarra)

Abstract

The continuity of many traditional extensive farms is challenged by socioeconomic and environmental changes occurring at unprecedent rates at global, regional, and local scales. Its decline will jeopardize the livelihood of billion of families and the provision of essential ecosystem services for global food security and sustainability. Here, we used the social-ecological robustness framework to classify the nature of the main problems of traditional livestock exploitations perceived by 255 shepherds interviewed in the six main traditional livestock farming systems in Spain. We used Redundancy Analysis, Q-analysis, and Qualitative Comparative Analysis to respond to the following research questions: (i) What are the main vulnerabilities perceived by shepherds? (ii) What social-ecological factors explain such vulnerabilities? (iii) How is the complexity of the problems organized? (iv) What vulnerabilities are associated with a decrease in extensive livestock farming?

Associate Professor

My research interests relate to assessinig and analyzing dynamics of social ecological systems, common pool resources, resilence of coastal systems and the relationship between cognitive abilities and group adaptabilty to socio-economic, political and environmental changes