Rhetoric and reality of reforestation methods for soil and water conservation in Guadalajara (Spain)

Foresters have played an important part in the Spanish national strategy against land degradation. It might be expected that after the changes restored political democracy in Spain in the late 1970s, a reorganization of the way the planning and implementation of soil and water conservation projects through reforestation would be changed. This paper considers the case of Guadalajara province as an example of the way in which reforestation has been e€ected at national level, and the consequences for the ecosystem. It examines how, since the 1940s, the technical methods used by forestry technicians have changed from concerns with protection to those of wood production. Although reforestation methods for wood production have been recognized as detrimental to soil and water conservation, they continue to be used even in the face of considerable opposition by local people and environmental pressure groups. The paper concludes that claims for soil protection mask a policy of wood production, excluding a€ected people from the decision-making process.