Pastoralism in the Mediterranean Basin: Conditions for Resilience Across Northern and Southern Regions

Pastoralism has a long-standing tradition throughout the Mediterranean Basin, on both its northern and southern shores. Sheep and goat herding, often involving transhumance, has historically thrived in areas characterized by poor and shallow soils, making pastoralism an integral component of the cultural and agricultural heritage of these landscapes. While the literature extensively documents the ecological role of pastoral systems and the consequences of their decline and abandonment, their social, cultural, and economic dimensions remain comparatively underexplored. Moreover, despite the general trend toward a reduction in the number of herds and the extent of grazed areas, some pastoral farmers persist, and a number of younger people engage in pastoral activities. This persistence, which is critical for identifying pathways to sustain pastoralism and its associated ecosystem services in the future, has received limited attention in the literature. This study aims to understand why pastoral farming persists in the Mediterranean context and to identify the key factors underpinning the resilience of pastoral farmers. To this end, a survey based on a common questionnaire was administered to pastoral farmers across 15 regions in the Mediterranean basin, spanning 8 countries (5 on the northern shore and 3 on the southern shore). A total of 363 valid responses were analyzed. The results reveal both differences and similarities between the Northern and Southern Mediterranean regions and allow the identification of three main types of pastoral farmers. Although income and compensation payments play an important role in entering or continuing the profession, they are not the most decisive factors. The meaningfulness of the profession and the attachment to both pastoral activity and family tradition, and in some regions of the collective organization, emerge as highly influential in farmers’ decision-making processes. These findings contribute to improving the robustness of territorial analyses and to identifying policy approaches for sustaining pastoralism that are not strictly constrained by the scale of nation states.