Forest exploitation can be a good tool to reverse the effects of the depopulation of small mountain nuclei. This was stated this Wednesday by the writer and naturalist Jordi Pasques in the framework of a conference on the abandoned villages of the Pyrenees that has been carried out in Tost, in the municipality of Ribera de Urgellet (Alt Urgell).
A field work carried out by Pasques puts the number of uninhabited villages in the Alt Pirineu and Aran plains at 56. In this sense, he has valued cooperative projects, promoted by various associations, aimed at revitalizing some of them.
In addition, he defended the impulse of a new neo-rural movement, like that of the 70s and 80s, which contributed to maintaining the social structure of the nuclei.
Pasques considers that one cannot speak of "abandoned towns" because "what people have done is leave, but the feeling of belonging is never completely lost." In this sense, he explained that many of the former inhabitants return to celebrate events, see the state of the house they had or visit their ancestors in the cemetery.
The writer and naturalist places the phenomenon of depopulation between the 1960s and 1970s, when a large part of the inhabitants of small mountain villages decided to move to the capital of the region.
Pallars Jussà would be the most affected, with 24 uninhabited nuclei, followed by Alt Urgell, with 17. Meanwhile, according to his field work, there are 7 in Pallars Sobirà, 6 in Alta Ribagorça and one both in Cerdanya and the Val d'Aran.
Pasques assures that "just as the depopulation was relatively fast, the repopulation is very slow." In this sense, he has said that people who want to take the step must be aware that they are going to a place where there is no work and that, to create activity, it is necessary to have cattle, do crafts or lumber work. Therefore, he defends that we must take advantage of the forest and the resources that the land provides.
Thus, the writer and naturalist has highlighted forest management as "one of the most important resources with a view to fixing the population and returning to the villages." In addition, he affirmed that if each town had a team to maintain these spaces, it would contribute to the recovery of pastures and land that had been agricultural, in addition to preventing fires.
Lastly, Pasques believes that the European programs for the mountain area are not being fully exploited, compared to what is happening on the other side of the Pyrenees, administered by France. Before his talk, the 'Tots a Tost' day began with a guided visit to the ruins of this nucleus by the writer Joan Obiols, who had relatives in the town and the valley.
The itinerary through Tost, where fifty people lived and which was left uninhabited in the 1960s, began at the house of Obiols' grandmother, the only one still standing, and continued at the church of Sant Martí, recently restored. During the tour, reference has been made to fragments of his books 'La Cucota' and 'Per terres de l'Alt Urgell'.
Afterwards, a concert was held by the duo La Sonsoni, by Pep Lizandra and Elías Porter, who performed songs about the evolution of life in the Pyrenees. The day has been organized by the Regional Council of Alt Urgell and the Ribera de Urgellet Town Council and has had the collaboration of the Institut d'Estudis Ilerdencs, the Diputación de Lleida, RadioSeu and residents of the Tost valley.
