Since last Wednesday, December 6, transhumance has been recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, by UNESCO. A protection that has been one of the continuous demands of the flocks that, twice a year, have been roaming the streets of Guadarrama with the help of the Transhumance and Nature Association chaired by Jesús Garzón.
The objective is to draw attention to the need to maintain an ancestral grazing system that, in our country, has more than 125,000 kilometers and an area of 420,000 hectares of livestock trails. Our livestock routes cover the entire peninsular territory and the islands, showing that transhumance is a widespread practice in all autonomous communities.
Today, the seasonal movement of herds continues to be a living heritage that has given rise to a rich cultural and ethnographic heritage, reflected in festivals and traditions, in the toponymy, gastronomy and architecture related to this activity.
As highlighted in the statement from the Ministry of Culture “Also the manifestations of oral tradition, crafts and traditional grazing techniques, as well as the management of pastures within the framework of customary law, are elements that the nomadic culture helped to transmit as it passed through different and distant territories. peninsular”.
The Unesco committee made the decision at its meeting in Kasene (Botswana).
Guadarrama committed to transhumance
The passage of the herds through Guadarrama and the municipal support for transhumance has been carried out continuously for years in the town. Reflecting this support was the declaration, by the Plenod e Guadarrama in 2016, of Guadarrama as a city friendly to transhumance and committed to the recovery of one of the oldest forms of pastoralism.
A commitment promoted by Leonor Villazala, with which this activity is supported and protected and Guadarrama is committed to helping those who practice it as they pass through the municipality.
The request to recognize transhumance as Intangible Heritage of Humanity has been led by Spain. However, it is common in other countries such as Albania or Romania.
Glass blowing technique
In addition to transhumance, the processes of glassblowing technique, its knowledge, products, instruments and associated machinery, as well as architectural spaces, have been recognized as presenting a set of historical, immaterial, technological and artistic values that deserve to be preserved.
21 manifestations of intangible heritage
With these inscriptions, Spain now has twenty-one cultural manifestations declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
In addition, it has four examples included in the Register of Good Practices for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, an instrument that recognizes notable experiences in programs, projects and activities to safeguard intangible cultural heritage in order to transmit them to other countries.
Next year it is expected that the ‘Asturian Cider Culture’ candidacy will be evaluated by UNESCO; as well as the expansion for the autonomous communities of Madrid, the Canary Islands and Murcia of ‘The art of dry stone’, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2018.
Spain, candidate for member of the UNESCO committee
In the next General Assembly of States Parties to UNESCO, which will take place in mid-2024, the countries that will form part of the evaluation committee for the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity candidatures will be decided. Spain aspires to be part of this committee, of which it was already a member from 2009 to 2013, and to be an active part in decision-making regarding intangible cultural heritage, in the management of which it is a leading country.
In addition to the high number of representative manifestations that Spain has registered on the UNESCO list, it is a country with a strong involvement in the care and conservation of its intangible cultural heritage, not only through its legislation and strategic plans (Heritage Law Cultural Heritage and National Plan for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage), but also of its dissemination activities and economic support during the twenty years of validity of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO.
2023-12-08 19:41:01
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