Project Description
Climate change, cultural identity, and the future of pastoralism in the Basque province of Soule
Meredith’s research in the northern Basque Country investigates the social, environmental, and political factors that influence farm transmission, continuity of traditional pastoral practice, and the resilience of the cultural landscape. Basque shepherds have been full partners in the design and development of this research since its inception. Recognizing that small-scale agriculture is increasingly under threat from climate change, economic liberalization, and public policies at national and supranational levels, the pastoralist partners asked: “What will this place look like in 50 years? Will there be farms? Will there be farmers?” To approach these questions, Meredith leads an interdisciplinary team comprising social scientists, climate and environmental systems modelers, ecologists, and soil scientists. Together, the team examines traditional management of both valley farms and the mountain common lands, the multi-scalar farming and environmental policies that have enabled and constrained those practices, and environmental controls on vegetation to understand how these factors have historically influenced one another. They seek to understand how climate change and anticipated policy changes are likely to impact these relationships, outlining likely future scenarios that pastoralists and policymakers can use to think proactively about the futures they want in a world that may look quite different than it does today.
During her fellowship, Meredith will focus on tracing the influence of the Common Agricultural Policy on pastoral practice and commons governance, Basque culture and identity, and traditional ecological knowledge. She uses historical documents and photographs, ethnographic research, and expert interviews to understand how the confluence of post-war agricultural and environmental policy, shifting values guiding local decision-making, and changing notions of what it means “to be Basque” have contributed to the changes we have observed in pastoral landscapes in southwestern France during that time.
Personal Bio
Meredith Welch-Devine is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Georgia, where she is also the Assistant Dean of the Graduate School. Meredith’s research is centered on how humans experience our changing climate and how they plan for the future. Most frequently, she works in large, interdisciplinary teams, and she is passionate about sharing her work with the public and policymakers in ways that are useful and usable.
Meredith has worked in Soule / Xiberoa (the smallest and most remote of the seven Basque provinces) since 2006, focusing initially on the management of the mountain commons and implementation of Natura 2000. Her current work, which focuses on sustaining that system in a changing climate, is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, and her team has recently received Belmont Forum funding to extend the work to Spain and Norway (the Belmont project is led by Dr. Tom Mote).