An age-old strategy has been revived to tackle the devastating effects of drought and heatwaves
Swapping sirens for bells and equipped with voracious appetites, Barcelona’s newest firefighting recruits began delicately picking past hikers and cyclists in the city’s largest public park earlier this year. The four-legged brigade – made up of 290 sheep and goats – had just one task: to munch on as much vegetation as possible.
Their arrival turned Barcelona into one of the latest places to embrace an age-old strategy that’s being revived as officials around the world face off against aThe idea is simple: wildfire-prone areas are handed over to grazing animals, who chomp and trample over dry vegetation that could otherwise accumulate as fuel for fires.
It’s a nod to how wildfires were warded off in the past. “We’re not inventing anything new here,” said Guillem Canaleta of the Pau Costa Foundation, a Catalan non-profit that has been implementing the strategy since 2016 in the province of Girona, near Barcelona. “What we’re doing is recovering something that already existed and that was disappearing.”8,000 hectare green space
perched over the city and which sees an average of 50 fires a year, said Eloi Badia, the Barcelona city councillor for climate emergency and ecological transition. Usually the fires are swiftly put out. “It is not lost on anybody that if one day there was to be a major fire, it would have a big impact,” he said. “It’s a very urban park, surrounded by densely packed municipalities.”
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Soul-destroyed' sheep farmers find hope from once-feral donkeysProperties in the Hunter Valley left demoralised by wild dog attacks find a saviour in an animal perhaps known best for its stubborn nature but with an incredible ability to bond with and protect other livestock.
Read more »
So long minimalism and white walls, the humble brick is backFar from resembling the ubiquitous red brick home of the 1960s, the winners of Australia’s richest architectural awards have taken the mundane and made it magical, says the jury of top architects. | juliepower
Read more »
So long minimalism and white walls, the humble brick is backRed brick homes are no longer a relic of the 1960s: leading architects are finding new ways to deploy them in homes, schools and workplaces of the future.
Read more »
Given the boot: Warriors cult hero ‘Roger Shoey Vasa-Sheck’ banned from Mt Smart StadiumThe popular Warriors fan who drinks out of his shoe was sensationally kicked out of Mt Smart Stadium on Friday night – now there’s a petition to save him.
Read more »
Given the boot: Warriors cult hero ‘Roger Shoey Vasa-Sheck’ banned from Mt Smart StadiumThe popular Warriors fan who drinks out of his shoe was sensationally kicked out of Mt Smart Stadium on Friday night – now there’s a petition to save him.
Read more »
Why Australian iron ore could save TaiwanFor all its rhetoric and threats, Beijing may be reluctant to follow through against the rebellious island due to trade sanctions that would almost certainly follow, including a likely end to its supply of precious Australian iron ore, writes business editor Ian Verrender.
Read more »