Jesús Sánchez Soler, spokesperson for the IU-Verdes (United Left) party in Cieza, has presented a motion requesting the Autonomous Community of Murcia to resume the demarcation, boundary marking, and, where appropriate, restoration of the livestock trails that cross the municipality of Cieza.
IU-Verdes de Cieza points out that "livestock trails—public property—have been used for centuries to transport livestock between winter pastures and grazing lands, constituting an extensive, rich, and diverse network that winds from north to south across the geography of the Peninsula."
The councilor and spokesperson for this party emphasizes "the great interest and concern for livestock trails and their future demonstrated by researchers and specialists, and the pressure from environmental and heritage protection associations, led to the approval of the Livestock Trails Law by the Plenary Session of the Congress of Deputies in its session of March 9, in 2005. This law defines livestock trails based on the use to which they have traditionally been assigned, establishing their public nature, the ownership of which is attributed to the Autonomous Communities."
Furthermore, he points out that "today, many voices are being raised defending the need to recover, from a perspective of integrated use, these ecological corridors, which occupy an area equivalent to 11% of the Spanish territory. These livestock trails are taking on new importance at a time when it is opportune to recover the cultural and recreational possibilities of rural areas. The first steps for these corridors are to ensure proper demarcation and the recovery of illegally occupied land, along with the construction of certain services."
The municipality of Cieza is crossed by up to thirteen cattle trails known as "Colada and Watering Trough of the House of Aguado", "Watering Trough and Resting Place of the Arenal", "Watering Trough and Resting Place of the Fountain of the Jew", Watering Trough and Resting Place of Ascoy", "Royal Cañada of the Cabañiles", "Cordel of Calasparra", "Cordel of La Mancha and the Archeneros", "Path of the Manga del Fraile and the Cañadas", "Path of the Loma Pinosa and the Bachiller", "Path of the Charcos", "Path of the Bridge", "Path of the Morrón and the Realejo", "Colada of the Cabezo Redondo", "Colada of the Asensao and Santalarroz" and "Colada of the Morcillos".
Since 1995, Izquierda Unida has been raising the need to demarcate and restore these ecological corridors. As a result of these efforts, technicians from the General Directorate of the Natural Environment of the Autonomous Community of Murcia, accompanied by municipal technicians and representatives of the Livestock Farmers Association, began an initial field study in the spring of 2002 as a preliminary step toward the provisional demarcation of the so-called "Vereda del Puente." However, the work was halted with the arrival of the new corporation, without any explanation, and remains so to this day.
The motion proposed by Sánchez Soler involves requesting that the Autonomous Community of Murcia resume the demarcation, boundary marking, and, where appropriate, restoration of the livestock trails that cross the municipality of Cieza; a subsequent plan for their use and improvement in accordance with educational, tourism, cultural, and livestock principles, including the implementation of certain infrastructure works necessary for their enjoyment; and the recovery of historical memory through talks in educational centers with the provision of materials, as well as exhibitions, and the development of field guides with itineraries, maps, and information on historical aspects of the physical environment.
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