A PERIOD OF RESPITE? THE EFFECTS OF COVID-19 ON PASTORALISM IN ITALY AND SPAIN

Pastoralism in Italy and Spain have undergone major shifts over the last fifty years as market-driven policies have marginalised traditional herding. COVID-19 brought both challenges and opportunities for pastoralists. Lockdowns increased appreciation for shepherding and limited tourism. It provided rural areas with a temporary respite; however, higher production costs, disrupted sales channels and changing rural property values strained livelihoods. Studying pastoral systems under exceptional events like the pandemic reveals how shifts in social valuation result in rapid changes in the positioning of pastoralism and, as a consequence, the reversibility of the structural oppression in which pastoralists are embedded.