Introduction
During the years 70 to 90, the number of farms, animal per
flock, fodder intensification, and development of cropping out of the growing
period has increased significantly. During the Years 80, French market of meat
opens again and low price importations strongly affected animal husbandry.
Following the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform in 1992, geographic
specialisation and increasing of animal per flock has been intensified. Between
1988 and 2000, animal industries have interred a process of lowering the number
of farms (loss of 62% sheep breeders and 1/3 wet nurse ewes) and increasing
importantly the number of animal per flock (Lasseur and Garde, 2007). In
central Pyrenees zone, flock management modifications have been organised in
accordance with many tendencies: improvement of reproduction performances,
abandon of mixity in the farms, lowering of working power, introduction of meat
breeds, products specialisation and selling period's restriction (Gibon, 1996).
In Ariège mountain zone, due to today called
«natural handicap» (elevation, slope, geomorphology, snowpack, soil
type, humidity, etc.), rearing of livestock using transhumant production
systems has been and is still the main land use and livelihood. This is
probably the most efficient way of exploiting these seasonal pastures
economically. Summer pasture farming has been and is still an integrated
element of Ariège's inhabitant agriculture; that is first and foremost
with regard to production of meat from cows and sheep. Mountain Summer Pasture
(MSP) farming was regulated in the laws from time immemorial. According to the
old pastoral law, if a farmer did not herd his cows and sheep to the summer
pasture, he could be reported for illegal grazing "grass robbery" and pay for a
levy. It is on the summer farm pastures that the multitude of traditions of
small scale dairy processing has survived. Summer farming in Ariège also
has long traditions in tourism and recreational opportunities for the thousands
of visitors who spend countless hours each year in the tranquillity and open
spaces of grasslands (B. Besche-Commenge, 2008).
Mountain pasture environments are highly diversified, thus in
these areas livestock graze on a patchwork of vegetation of highly varying
quality. It is therefore essential to determine the right time to move
livestock to suitable specific sites throughout the summer. Because of the
threat of high energy consumption activities on environment, relations between
agriculture and environment are usually tackled from the angle of seeking to
limit the negative effects of farming practices, in particular as regards the
spreading of pollutants. In French Mediterranean region, it is mainly positive
aspects of farming activities that are focused on, such as maintaining the
biodiversity of rangelands through grazing. Environmental issues on these areas
and agricultural strategies are now focused on preserving biodiversity (Clergue
and al., 2005; Gibon, 1997).
Biodiversity loss is an issue with complex social, economic,
cultural, and ecological dimensions. Dealing with it requires complex
solutions. Although this is a global developing policy options to manage the
crisis will require a proper understanding of why and how biodiversity is
changing, and the integration of knowledge from many different disciplines.
This is a difficult task, and for the moment, successful examples of fully
integrated research are rare. Biodiversity loss can affect ecosystem functions
and services. Individual ecosystem functions generally show a positive
asymptotic relationship with increasing biodiversity, suggesting that some
species are redundant. However, ecosystems are managed and conserved for
multiple functions, which may require greater biodiversity (Hector &
Bagchi, 2007).
The purpose of this work is not to answer questions about
sustainability of bear reintroduction or to take any position about bear
polemic but to underline what have been doing in terms of pastoralism and what
can be the stumbling block for the implementation of brown bear plan subsidies.
To inter into this topic I have choosen to keep in mind these questions: Up to
now, pastoralism is on unstable equilibrium and fragile economies; how will the
new data enhance this status? What are the damages of traditional pastoralism
in terms of biodiversity value and value expected for the «modern»
pastoralism? What are the additional functions of mountainous ecosystems with
new data and procedures?
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