Declinul efectivelor de ovine și migrația ca provocări contemporane ale păstoritului

DECLINE IN SHEEP NUMBERS AND MIGRATION AS CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES PASTORALISM IS FACING. Shepherding has undergone in the past century several transformations and adaptations in its practices. Although the scale on which this occupation is practiced has declined, it is still considered important in Romania. It is a heritage that plays an important part in forming of the local identity. In mountainous areas, where people still breed sheep, shepherding is closely linked to local and national cultural life (several examples are given, from the “Transhumance 2013” project carried out in Romania and Poland, to the inclusion in UNESCO intangible heritage list of transhumant shepherding). The article focuses on two of the challenges sheep farming is facing today: the decline in livestock number, and migration. First, it analyses the decline in livestock numbers, with direct consequences on how semi-natural grasslands are used: some of the alpine pastures are abandoned; the reconversion of hay meadows in pastures; and the return of a local-agricultural type of pastoralism (see Vuia, 1980). The second aspect analysed in the article is migration, which, although specific to the occupation of shepherding (the migration routes of shepherd populations have been known since the 17th century, and have been studied by historians), is no longer associated with this occupation today. But still, shepherding is strongly influenced by circular migration (Sandu 2000). It leads to the depopulation of villages and the aging of local populations, and, also, to finding good shepherds with difficulty. The article is based on field research on traditional knowledge associated with grassland management (hayfields and pastures) carried out in mountain communities in Romania.