The Laboratory presents the results of its 'monte' sustainability analysis to the communities
The University of Santiago (through the Histagra Group and CISPAC) and the Pablo de Olavide University, within the framework of the Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory, have developed a specific methodology for ‘montes vecinales’, which combines historical sources, fieldwork, and environmental, social, and economic indicators.
June 5, 2025 – Throughout the month of May, feedback sessions titled “Building in Community” were organized and hosted by the Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory in Baroña (Porto do Son), O Carballo (Friol), and Zobra (Lalín), in collaboration with the University of Santiago de Compostela (through the HISTAGRA group and CISPAC) and the Pablo de Olavide University. The results from the sustainability analysis of their ‘montes’ was shared with the neighboring communities, while also gathering proposals to guide the future paths of each ‘monte’, rooted in collective knowledge.
The sessions are part of a broader process of research and companionship initiated by the Laboratory in 2020, with the aim of highlighting historical forms of communal management and supporting the transition toward more sustainable management models. Since 2021, practical initiatives based on sustainability have been developed, and in 2024 the project was selected in the call to promote the forest bioeconomy by the Biodiversity Foundation of MITECO, through the framework of the PRTR, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
Within the structure of this project, the universities conducted an in-depth analysis of three pilot communities: Baroña, O Carballo, and Zobra. The work combined historical sources, community documentation, interviews, and field visits. It adapted the social metabolism methodology to the scale of ‘montes vecinales’ to assess their degree of sustainability from an environmental, social, and economic perspective, along with the agroecosystem services they provide.
This analysis led to the development of a proprietary methodology, which will now be applied to support the Rianxo common land community (through the Plataforma pola Defensa do Monte) in their transition toward greater sustainability. The assessment of each ‘monte’ is based on both close dialogue with community members and the study of cartography, historical and current documentation.
In the case of the three pilot communities, the historical evolution of the use of ‘montes’ was analyzed, from a role of support for traditional agroecosystems to the forestation processes during the dictatorship, and their subsequent recovery as multifunctional spaces serving the communities. The current results reflect a wide variety of uses: timber production, extensive livestock farming, beekeeping, recreational and cultural activities, environmental conservation, and wind power generation. These uses were assessed in terms of ecosystem services though a comprehensive approach.
Metabolic analysis (quantification of inputs, socialized biomass, energy productivity, etc.) and agroecosystem analysis (services such as water provision, carbon sequestration, cultural activities, and job creation) offers highly relevant commentary on the value of ‘montes vecinales’ for the sustainability of rural areas.
In addition to the quantitative analysis, land use maps were developed that capture the productive (timber, pasture, beekeeping), social (recreation, festivals, education), environmental (biodiversity, carbon sequestration), and heritage functions of each ‘monte’. All this information, constructed using participatory methodologies, seeks to strengthen the decision-making capacity of the CMVMCs, improve their autonomy in relations with the administration, and contribute to planning for possible futures.
The workshops made it possible to identify common challenges and strengthen shared knowledge among the communities. This first phase of work with the pilot communities has established a solid foundation for extending the methodology to other CMVMCs, especially those in Rianxo, with the aim of developing useful tools adapted to the reality of each territory.
Barbanza Ecosocial Lab has the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) of the Government of Spain, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.