The director of the Biodiversity Foundation, a public foundation of the Government of Spain, under the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, Ana Leiva, together with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Junta de Extremadura, Juan María Vázquez, today presented the project “Somos Dehesa”. This event took place within the framework of the XI World Bull Fair that is being held until next Sunday at the Seville Conference and Exhibition Centre, under the slogan ‘The fighting bull: a model of sustainability for the pastures’.

The Biodiversity Foundation and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Regional Government of Extremadura are developing the project “Somos Dehesa”, the wild cattle as a factor in the sustainable development of dehesa habitats. This initiative has a duration of two years.

Its purpose is to encourage and carry out activities in the western half of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura. Specifically, it is intended to conserve and promote the sustainable use of the biodiversity of the Extremadura pastures, through the protection of the fighting bull, avoiding the degradation and destruction of its primordial habitat and enhancing the economic development of the dehesa areas. Likewise, this initiative proposes to preserve the sociocultural values related to the fighting bull in the population of Extremadura, to ensure the proper management of the pastures with a comprehensive approach, to demonstrate the importance of wild cattle ranching as an effective instrument for the sustainability of the pastures and to improve the traditional constructions that are used in the breeding of the bull.