The Council of Ministers has given the green light this Tuesday to a Royal Decree that develops the National Network of Livestock Routes, made up of about 11,393 kilometers (km) of old cattle paths, in order to strengthen their protection and keep transhumance alive, according to the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
The new regulation details the routes of these public domain corridors and establishes coordination tools between the different administrations to improve their conservation, ensure their continuity between autonomous communities (CCAA), and defend them against intrusions and illegal occupations.
The Royal Decree, which develops the provisions of Law 3/1995 on Livestock Routes, aims as a priority to guarantee the transit of livestock and facilitate the practice of transhumance, while recognizing the contribution of these routes to ecological connectivity, the preservation of biodiversity, and the safeguarding of the historical and cultural heritage linked to rural landscapes.
The regulation stipulates that the General Administration of the State will assume the functions of definition, coordination, and information of the National Network of Livestock Routes, while the CCAA will retain their competencies over the administration and management of the routes in their respective territorial areas, as well as over their classification, delimitation, and marking.
Among the measures contemplated, the dissemination of updated information about the livestock routes and their sections, their digital cartography, their administrative situation, and the actions related to their classification, delimitation, or modification is included. This data will be integrated into the Spanish Inventory of Natural Heritage and Biodiversity and into the Nature Data Bank.
In the same way, the Documentary Fund of Livestock Routes is created, which will gather historical documentation, maps, precedents, and administrative resolutions with the aim of improving the knowledge of these paths and facilitating access to information for both administrations and interested individuals. At the same time, procedures are established to keep the information on the routes updated and to promote its coordination with the Cadastre and the Property Registry.
On the other hand, the regulation establishes a common framework for institutional cooperation to "guarantee the coherence and continuity" of the routes that run through several autonomous communities. To this end, it provides for the development of a National Network Action Program, which will define the objectives, priorities, and necessary measures to optimize its conservation and management.
In addition, the Committee of Livestock Routes is established as the coordinating body for actions in this area, with the aim of strengthening collaboration among all the administrations involved.