FS 3.209: Safeguarding Pastoralism in Mountain Regions

Pastoralism, a traditional agricultural practice, is recognized as important for safeguarding mountainous areas, due to its potential for ecological, social and economic contributions to sustainable development, e.g. producing food ethically and providing essential ecosystem services. In many mountain regions, incl. the Alps, Carpathians, Caucasus and the Pyrenees, pastoralism is an important component of cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, cultural landscape management. However, safeguarding this important practice faces challenges, including: socio-economic transitions, knowledge gaps in pastoralists’ ecological contributions and their remuneration, lack of educational resources for shepherds, and, importantly, lack of awareness and deeply-rooted misconceptions about the importance of pastoralism and of shepherd’s knowledge. All these issues necessitate co-creation of knowledge and cooperation across experts and practitioners in the field of pastoralism, biodiversity and education and across mountainous regions. Several initiatives have been facilitated by the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026, the Carpathian Convention, Euromontana and Eurac Research with partners at the national and local levels, to address the above-mentioned challenges. The aim of this Focus Session is to present these initiatives and invite exchange among the expert community working on pastoralism in mountain regions, with a focus on safeguarding and facilitating pastoral practices though shepherd’s and herders education, the collection of data on ecosystem services derived from pastoral activities, awareness-raising about pastoralism and its cross-sectoral dimensions.