THE INANIMATE FORESTCommercial Management and Environmental Degradation of

Andalusian Forests

Historical Context of Energy Supply

Nadia Martínez Espinar

Introduction

Environmental degradation and social abandoning of Spanish forests.

Environmental History: main causes of these problems do not rise from the present, but from the past.

Drought, soil erosion, deforestation, fire risk, depopulation.

Research Cázulas

Hypothesis:

The situation of our forests has been provoked by changes in the environment´s economic function that happened during the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries. Hegemony of commercial interests to manage the natural resources.

Case Study: Cázulas (Granada-Spain).

Research Cázulas

Cázulas

Municipality of Otívar.

Cázulas.

Province of Granada

Granada Capital

Content

Transition (19th-20th centuries): Traditional Industrial management of natural resources. Predominance traditional energy sources predominance

modern energy sources.

National/International energy context (historical approach)

Connection: external influence changes in Cázulas (research proposal).

Traditional Management

Beginning Twentieth Century

Charcoal-burners, wood-cutters, firewood collection, lime-production, esparto-grass and medicinal plants collection, livestock, hunting, farm-cottages lessees…

Traditional Management

Beginning Twentieth Century

Charcoal-burners, wood-cutters, firewood collection, lime-production, esparto-grass and medicinal plants collection, livestock, hunters, farm-cottages lessees…

Traditional Management

Beginning Twentieth Century

Charcoal-burners, wood-cutters, firewood collection, lime-production, esparto-grass and medicinal plants collection, livestock, hunting, farm-cottages lessees…

Traditional Management

Beginning Twentieth Century

Charcoal-burners, wood-cutters, firewood collection, lime-production, esparto-grass and medicinal plants collection, livestock, hunting, farm-cottages lessees…

Energy Supply

Direct Use of Forest Product as Energy (Davidsdottir, 2004)

Wood fuelsrenewable and climate-friendly source.

Firewood (benefits and problems).

Charcoal (benefits and problems).

Modern Management

Timber industry

Paper and Cellulose Industry.

consumers of modern energy

TRANSIT FROM TRADITIONAL USE TO INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT

Reforestation: Wood farms Foreign and rapidly growing species fire-risky

Disappearance traditional uses: Depopulation of the forest/less watchers Less cleaning-tasks of the forest (livestock, lime-production,

charcoal, firewood)

Rural communitywage-earning workersemigration

Transition

Forest: source of energy and natural resources (economic complement to rural families)

Forest: industries consumers of energy (wage-earning work)

Inanimate Forest

Source: Rubio, 2005

Source: Rubio, 2005

Source: Rubio, 2005

Source: Rubio, 2005

Source: Krausmann, Haberl, 2002

Krausmann, Haberl, 2002

USA-Energy Consumption by Source, 1635-2000

(Quadrillion Btu)

Source: EIA

Case Study Cazulas.Resources Management. Beginning Twentieth Century Types of resources:

Wood exploitation Resin exploitation

Charcoal and firewood Livestock Farm-cottages

Case Study Cazulas.Resources Management.The fifties. Disappearance of the Resin exploitation (abandoned

trees-”trametes”) Timber exploitation vs. Livestock use (industrial use vs.

Traditional use)

The seventies. Radical elimination of non-industrial managements Timber+Hunting (professional)=closed forest

Connection: external pressure/changes in Cázulas (ongoing research)

External Influence International market demand (historical evolution). International energy supply (historical evolution).

Transition in Cázulas. Data compilation: Cázulas archive. Income / Expenses books, since 1890 until 1960.

Traditional Energy Sources

Thank you for

your attention