La forest fire prevention with goats It has ceased to be a distant idea and has become a very concrete reality in Xàbia (Alicante). The municipality has committed to the ecological grazing as a forest management tool, introducing goats into the Montgó Plain to naturally reduce the vegetation that would fuel a potential fire.
In this pilot experience, More than 250 goats graze for a minimum of six months in one of the most sensitive areas of the Montgó Natural Park. The goal is not only to minimize the risk of fires, but also to maintain the landscape, reinforce biodiversity, and recover traditional practices that for decades helped keep the forest under control without heavy machinery or chemicals.
Organic grazing in the Montgó Plain: how the pilot test works
The project driven by the Javea Town Hall It takes place in La Plana, a flat area of Montgó with high environmental value and high fire riskThere, the flock consumes scrubland, grasses, and shoots that, in the middle of summer, could become a dangerous mass of dry fuel.
The initiative is conceived as a pilot test of active forest managementGoats are partially replacing brush cutters and other more aggressive methods. The council explained that the goats will be in the area for at least six months, moving through different sectors to continuously control the vegetation load, not just through occasional interventions.
This action adds to the forestry work already being carried out in Montgówhere more than twenty people collaborate volunteer firefightersas well as interventions in other areas of the municipality, such as Granadella, and planned forest management projects on roads such as the Camí Vell de Teulada.
During the public presentation of the initiative, the mayor and councilor for Agriculture and Livestock, Rosa CardonaHe launched a key idea: “fires are extinguished in winter.” With this, he wanted to emphasize that the best way to tackle large summer fires is to reduce vegetation fuel during the colder months, when the risk is lower and there is more time to work.
The flock, under the care of the shepherd Thomas Llull, thus becoming one more piece of a long-term prevention strategyIn this system, livestock not only clear the forest, but also help to keep the landscape open and slow the flow of fuel between forests and inhabited areas.
Protection of the urban-forest interface and safety of the population
One of the most delicate points of the project is the wildland-urban interfaceThat is, the area where the forest meets homes and housing developments. In the event of a fire, these areas pose a high risk, both to people and infrastructure.
The Environment Councillor and representative of Creama, juanlu cardonaHe emphasized that the grazing design focuses precisely on these areas: the flock moves in a planned manner through the areas closest to the houses to create a perimeter strip with less flammable vegetation.
Reducing the height and density of shrubs and grass results in a kind of live firewall This hinders the spread of flames and gives firefighting services more room to maneuver. The goal is not to completely eliminate vegetation, but to reduce its density and make it less continuous, something that livestock do gradually and consistently.
This buffer zone, created through grazing, blends better into the landscape than a track or a completely cleared strip of land. Furthermore, decreases the potential intensity of a firewhich can make the difference between a controllable fire and a large, difficult-to-stop forest fire.
The City Council emphasizes that the The safety of people is at the heart of the projectand that the movement of livestock is adjusted to the protection needs of the inhabited areas, without neglecting the natural values of the park.
Strict planning and respect for areas of high ecological value
Although it may seem that the goats move freely, the project is far from being a simple let-graze. All grazing is carefully planned and supervised. by technicians from the Montgó Natural Park and the City Council itself.
Those in charge have made it clear that The animals do not graze freely.Specific routes and schedules are followed, designated areas are demarcated, and measures are taken to prevent goats from accessing sensitive locations. This is key to avoiding negative impacts and reconciling fire prevention with biodiversity conservation.
The following are completely excluded from the herd's routes: micro-reserves of flora and those spaces where they are concentrated plant species or protected habitatsThese areas, due to their fragility and their scientific and natural interest, are considered untouchable within the planning.
The technicians insist that the model respects the Management guidelines for the Montgó Natural Park and that grazing is conceived as another conservation tool, not as an activity that should compete with other uses of the protected space.
Thanks to this constant monitoring, an attempt is made to achieve a complex balance: reduce fuel consumption without compromising environmental values which have led to the area being protected. The local administration itself admits that it has been a complex undertaking in terms of procedures and coordination, but considers the effort worthwhile.
Recovery of traditional practices and environmental benefits
Beyond the reduction in fire risk, the Xàbia Town Council and the technicians involved highlight other positive effects. use of goats to clear the forest It promotes more diverse vegetation, opens up clearings, and prevents certain highly flammable species from colonizing everything uncontrollably.
This type of handling helps to to maintain ecosystems in better balance, while also giving continuity to trades and traditional agricultural practices that for years were part of the Mediterranean landscape. The shepherd and his flock once again play a relevant role in land management, something that had been lost with rural depopulation.
The city council emphasizes that this is a a sustainable solution with no significant negative impact, aligned with the current environmental sustainability policies and the protection of natural heritage. It does not involve the use of fossil fuels, does not generate noise comparable to that of machinery, and reincorporates organic matter into the soil through the excrement of the livestock themselves.
Furthermore, controlled grazing contributes to increase landscape resilience in the face of climate change, since it gives rise to less continuous vegetation mosaics and, therefore, less vulnerable to high-intensity fires, something that is of particular concern in the Mediterranean basin.
The administrations involved insist that this formula It does not replace other forestry workRather, it complements them. Clearing, thinning, surveillance, and emergency plans are still necessary, but livestock provides an additional layer of prevention that works, literally, day after day on the ground.
A collaborative model with the aim of expanding to other areas
The project's implementation has not been easy. The City Council acknowledges that it has involved numerous administrative procedures and a lengthy coordination process between different entities: the council itself, Creama (Local Development Agency), the Montgó Natural Park, the emergency services and the livestock sector.
That collaboration has resulted in a model that It seeks to be replicable in other areas of the municipality and even in other territories with similar problems. In fact, its expansion is already being studied to more areas of Xàbia where the risk of fire and the accumulation of plant fuel advise interventions of this type.
The experience of the Plana del Montgó is presented as a reference for other municipalities that want to explore the prevention of forest fires with goats. Mediterranean environmentswhere urban development pressure, agricultural abandonment and the increase in heat waves have raised risk levels.
According to municipal sources, the initial results and the positive reception from the public suggest that this type of initiative could become a permanent fixture. stable component of forest managementprovided that coordination between administrations is maintained and economic viability is guaranteed for the livestock farmers involved.
With this project, Xàbia reinforces a strategy in which prevention, biodiversity and traditional knowledge They work together to combat forest fires. Far from being a mere picturesque element in the landscape, the goats become silent allies in public safety and the conservation of Montgó.
