Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
2.RECENTCHANGESOFWAYSOFLIFEANDLIVELIHOODINTHESPANISH...
35
andhaveincreasedthenumberofdepopulatedvillagesexistinginsomecounties
(SierradeAyllon,thenorthwesternMerindades).
Atthesametime,therehasbeenaredistributionofthefewpeoplewhohave
remainedinthesevillagesandtheytendtoconcentrateinthecountytowns,
wheretheycanhavemorefacilitiesandservices(healthcare,education,etc.)and
cansignificantlyimprovetheirqualityoflife.Thus,withafewexceptions(Massif
ofHernio),themountainareasstudiedsharetodaythepopulationgrowthwith
thecountycapitalstothedetrimentofothertowns.
Inanotheraspect,acursoryandrapidanalysisofthedataonthedistribution
ofemploymentbyproductivesectorsrevealsthattheareaswheremoretraditional
traitssurviveandaredemographicallymostregressivearethosewheretheweight
oftheagriculturalsectorismoreevidentanddominantinemployment.
Thechangeoftraditionaleconomicbasisofruralspace
OneofthefunctionsthattheSpanishmountainareasplayeduntiltodayhasbeen
theexploitationofnaturalresourcestobeusedinindustrialandurbanareas,
sometimesinveryremoteareas.
ThebestexamplesarelocatedinthewesternpartoftheCantabrian
Mountains,bothinthenorthernandinthesouthernslopes.Thistypeofuse
remainstoday,evensometimesithasincreased.Butfurther,recentlywindpower
productionhasacquiredgreatimportanceandtakesplaceonbigwindfarmsinall
regionsstudied.Thesefarmsarechangingthelandscapeofthemountainareas
beinglocatedeveninthelimitsofnaturalprotectedareas,nationalandnatural
parks.However,theyhavebeensupportedbytheinstitutionsandtheinhabitants
themselvesbecausetheyprovideincometothemunicipalitiesortoneighborsand
generateemploymentforpeople.
Miningactivitieshavealsohadaspecialprotagonisminsomeoftheareas
studied.SuchisthecaseoftheextractionofcoalintheAsturianmountain
countiessincethelate19thcentury,inalmostartisanalmines,althoughthelarge
takeoffcamefromthedemandgeneratedduringtheFirstWorldWar.Sincethen,
coalbecamethemaineconomicresourceoftheCentralAsturianMountain,at
leastuntilthesecondhalfofthe20thcentury.Fromthe1960s,miningactivity
begantotakethefirstsymptomsofastructuralcrisiswhichstretchedduringthe
1990sandhitbottominthe2000s,withthesignificantclosureofmineshaftsand
open-cutmines,washingplacesandadjacentinstallations.
SomethingsimilarhappenedinthecountyofSanabriawhere,alongthe
1990s,thecrisisintheminingsectorwasreflectedinaprogressiverisein
unemployment,thegradualclosureoflocalshopsoverlydependentonthemining
industry,andinanalarmingdepopulationcausedbyearlysuccessiveretirement
plansthatwereimplementedbythecoalcompaniesinthearea.
Tothedismantlingofmining,themismatchofurbanfacilitiesandservices
andtheemigrationandagingofthepopulationasthemainobstaclesto
