La falta de relevo generacional de agricultores y ganaderos deja el monte desprotegido ante los incendios: “Se está perdiendo su modo de vida”

Spain is currently facing a national emergency as wildfires have devastated more than 173,000 hectares of land so far this year. This figure represents a sixfold increase in burned area compared to the same period in previous years. The crisis is part of a broader trend of escalating fire activity across Europe, as evidenced by recent events in France, where a single fire near Bordeaux consumed nearly triple the country's typical annual average of burned land in less than a week.

Experts attribute the increased vulnerability of the landscape to a critical lack of generational replacement among farmers and ranchers. As these traditional agricultural roles go unfilled, the resulting abandonment of rural land leaves forests and mountains unprotected and prone to fire. Observers warn that this shift not only compromises environmental safety but also signals the erosion of a traditional way of life that historically helped maintain these landscapes.