Fire Flocks: Shepherds Grazing Catalonia's Wildfire Corridors

Launched in 2016 by the Pau Costa Foundation with Catalonia's GRAF firefighters, Ramats de Foc pairs shepherds with strategic, fire-prone forest zones where sustained grazing thins out the shrubby fuel that lets wildfires explode. Instead of direct subsidies, the project built a premium meat and dairy brand so shoppers fund the fire-prevention work every time they buy a shepherd's product. By the early 2020s the network included 22 shepherds grazing roughly 600 hectares of fire-critical land, giving firefighters pre-cleared corridors to anchor their containment lines.