Basque ethnography at a glance

Infected pine forest. Sergio Fernández.

Over the 20th century a dramatic transformation of the landscape took place in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. Our mountains were gradually covered by vast forests of insignis or radiata pine (Pinus radiata), a species native to the west coast of North America. The complex reasons for such a radical transformation are associated to large-scale privatization of the commons, a purely economic vision, and above all, the abandonment of agricultural and farm activities. As the rural world lost its traditional function, pine farming took on a dominant role; furthermore, it generated plentiful benefits, not in vain foresters proudly called it their ‘green gold’. (more…)