The Galician Journal of Economics has published a study by the Territory Laboratory demonstrating the socio-economic and environmental benefits of managing rural land use in Galicia. The research addresses the complex legislative framework governing agroforestry land in the region and highlights the importance of having, for the first time, a regulatory instrument specifically designed for this purpose: the Catalogue of Agricultural and Forestry Soils.
The article confirms, through quantitative indicators and spatial metrics, that organizing agricultural and forestry land use increases the efficiency of these activities and improves the environmental sustainability of the territory. The results show a significant reduction in land-use fragmentation, an increase in the number of viable units for farming and forestry, a decrease in wildfire risk, and an improvement in the ecological value of the land under the proposed Catalogue.
These findings demonstrate the suitability of the Catalogue to simultaneously protect the productive capacity of the land and ensure environmental sustainability, while also guaranteeing an increase in the useful agricultural area and legal certainty for agroforestry activities.
For these reasons, the study emphasizes the need to develop and approve the Catalogue for the entire region of Galicia, with the aim of providing integrated planning for agricultural and forestry land across the community. This measure would allow Galicia to reach levels of useful agricultural land comparable to the national and European averages, strengthening the competitiveness of the agri-food sector and promoting sustainable land management.
Santé, , I. (2025). Towards efficient and sustainable management of rural land in Galicia: Case study of the Catalogue of Agricultural and Forestry Land.
Revista Galega De Economía,
34(3).
https://doi.org/10.15304/rge.34.3.10757
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