The BioPirineo project has analyzed and implemented pilot actions in forest and livestock management, agricultural diversification, and sustainable tourism to restore landscape balance, improve resilience to climate change, and generate new economic opportunities linked to local resources.
Today, the BioPirineo project presented in Jaca the final results of its actions in the Valles Occidentales, highlighting the need to move towards coordinated and supra-municipal forest management in order to address challenges such as wildfire risk, uncontrolled vegetation growth, generational renewal, and adaptation to climate change.
The event began with an address by the President of the Comarca de la Jacetania, Olvido Moratinos, who thanked the organisers for selecting the territory to host the project. “Thank you, BioPirineo, for choosing us for this project, which we hope can be replicated in other areas of the Comarca,” said Moratinos. She also underlined the importance of sustainable forest management as a key tool for wildfire prevention: “This year we have not had any fires, but it is a risk we are not exempt from.”
The project coordinator, Pablo Pevidal, presented the BioPirineo intervention areas and the main results achieved in forest management. During his presentation, he stressed that “a supra-municipal technical body is needed to help all municipalities manage their forests,” a demand shared by many local stakeholders. “Only 10% of Aragón’s forest biomass is currently being used,” he added.
From the Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología y Desarrollo (IPE), Daniel Gómez explained the administrative difficulties encountered during the project’s implementation. “The problem was not financial; it took us 18 months just to obtain the permits required to carry out a pasture management plan,” he said. Gómez also highlighted the traditional knowledge of local inhabitants: “Communities that live in the mountains know that vegetation must be managed to curb uncontrolled growth.”
Víctor Ezquerra, a technician at IPE, noted that “the challenge has been to find a balance and to recover native species that have been lost due to the spread of certain plants such as juniper.” IPE also presented the livestock management plan developed within BioPirineo, which included defining the administrative unit known as the “Mountain Pasture” and assessing the current livestock carrying capacity.
In the agricultural field, Juliana Navarro, a technician from CITA, explained the work carried out to diversify land use and address the lack of agricultural land. “We wanted to respond to the shortage of space for agriculture, as everything was dedicated to pasture,” she said. Navarro added that “these crops had to be adapted to future climate change scenarios” and that the objective was “to assess the potential for cultivating local fruit varieties conserved in existing CITA plots.”
In addition, the demonstration plot in Bernués showcased the area’s potential for cultivating and harvesting native aromatic plants, opening up new opportunities linked to the local economy and the valorisation of territorial resources.
The project also addressed tourism from a sustainability perspective. eco-union highlighted the need to promote unified and coordinated tourism management and promotion of the Valles Occidentales destination through the creation of a public-private working group, the establishment of a consortium, the development of an action financing plan, and the creation of a shared brand with promotional activities.
The Director of eco-union, Jeremie Fosse, emphasised the importance of mobility in moving towards a sustainable tourism model: “We have also created a mobility plan, because if we want sustainable and less seasonal tourism, we need a mobility plan for both tourists and workers.”
An Authentic Pyrenees
During the event, the sustainable tourism campaign “Auténtico Pirineo”, developed by the agency Lemur Creativos, was also presented. The campaign highlights the identity of the territory through its own inhabitants, portrayed as “authentic influencers,” strengthening a narrative based on authenticity, sustainability, and local roots.
Finally, several future lines of work aimed at ensuring continuity of the project’s results were presented. These include the development of local products such as natural-origin cosmetics and artisanal liqueurs, which could help retain population and generate new economic opportunities in the Valles Occidentales.
