Exodus from paradise: ‘Empty’ villages’ cry for help

WHILST Spain’s coasts and its major cities are densely-packed, cosmopolitan and – mostly – modern and well-connected, with the number of nationalities living like neighbours and equal members of the community running into three figures, five or six languages being heard in conversation on the average 10-minute walk, a short journey inland from the beach or out of the suburbs tells a different story: vast swathes of open, unoccupied countryside, villages made up of just two or three families, hamlets tucked into the mountains whose populations can be counted on fingers and toes. These beautiful, tranquil areas are a paradise for anyone seeking peace, clean air and nature, and to see elements of life that have remained unchanged for centuries: working donkeys, hand-ploughed fields, close-knit communities whose members are known by third-generation nicknames, mail addressed to the local bar instead of houses, no need to email your mayor because you’ll probably be chatting to him over a beer or a coffee in said bar at some point that day anyway.

But this pastoral Eden has its drawbacks – at least, for the rapidly-declining groups of people who live there. For mobile phone and internet companies, it’s not worth their while, financially, setting up a network for villages of fewer than 30 residents with over 20 kilometres of mountain between them. Jobs outside of agriculture (or running the local bar or village shop, a job that’s probably been inherited) are virtually nil, and the commute to the nearest large town is too long. As a result, working-aged adults move out, so the birth-rate falls, schools shut, the population becomes older and, inevitably, dies out.

 

State help needed to halt population decline in Spain’s most beautiful areas

The good news is that regional governments and local councils in these areas are committed to improving services and facilities and encouraging childbirth, homebuying and younger residents. After all, if you can cope with having to travel a bit to your closest big supermarket, as long as you have an internet connection, those of you who are able to work from home can live anywhere you please. Home-workers are part of the solution rural authorities seek: those of child-bearing age can help rejuvenate the population and increase its numbers; but none of this can happen if you can’t even get a signal on your mobile or you’re an hour’s drive for the nearest ambulance service.

And there’s only so much rural authorities can do without State help, which of course, has to come in the form of funding.

That’s why the nationwide association, La España Vaciada (which roughly translates as ‘The Emptied Spain’) took to the streets of Madrid today (Sunday), carrying banners with the names of their villages and declarations that they do indeed exist.

 

‘Endangered’ villages and where to find them

De-population is not merely a Spanish problem. Europe as a whole is affected, although as Spain is the second-largest EU nation in terms of land mass, it is, by default, the country where the issue is most prominent. Recent data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) show that 53% of the country has fewer than 12 inhabitants per square kilometre – even in a small coastal town, the headcount is normally between 400 and 600 per square kilometre, which gives an indication of just how empty La España Vaciada really is.

With 6,000 villages’ having seen a decline in their population in the last decade, and 80% of villages in 14 of the country’s 50 provinces being at risk of extinction, the irony is that the entire headcount of ‘Empty Spain’ would be enough to fill several cities the size of Madrid. And with 90 associations representing them storming the capital today, their numbers and presence were heavily felt, showing just what can be achieved when those who live in near-isolation gather together.

The Balearic Islands is the region whose population has risen the most in the past year, and the top 10 provinces are all those in Catalunya except the land-locked Pyrénéen Lleida – whose headcount has nevertheless gained inhabitants, even though not significantly – the single-province region of Madrid and its southern neighbour, Toledo, in Castilla-La Mancha, plus the Canary Islands, and, curiously, the regions of Navarra and La Rioja, whose location in the Pyrénées and south-west of them respectively, with no coastline and a long way from the nearest major metropolitan area, would normally make them candidates for population decline

The hinterland province of Zamora (Castilla y León), in the north-west and bordering onto Portugal, has shrunk the most in population terms in the last year, as has its neighbours to the north in the same region, León and Palencia, and to the south, Ávila. Also bordering Portugal is the province of Cáceres, in the land-locked western region of Extremadura, among the top 10 for population decline in the past year, Ciudad Real in Castilla-La Mancha – in the dead centre of mainland Spain – and its southern neighbour in Andalucía, Jaén, plus the province of Teruel in southern Aragón and, oddly, despite having a coast which usually means population stability or growth, the province of Lugo in the far north-western region of Galicia.

Other than the region of Asturias, all other provinces which have shrunk in people numbers are inland – Ourense (Galicia), Soria, Segovia, Salamanca, Burgos, in Castilla y León, a region where only its central province of Valladolid has grown; Cuenca and Albacete (Castilla-La Mancha), Córdoba (Andalucía) and Badajoz (Extremadura).

 

Rural magic: Tourism without the crowds, clean air, great weather and cheap houses

Yet, for holiday-home buyers, these shrinking provinces are perfect locations: free from mass tourism, those south of Madrid still enjoying the same hot summers and mild winters as the south coast and the Mediterranean, whilst those to the north still have a guaranteed summer but a less sweltering and humid version, and drastically cheaper purchase prices – often with land, meaning a swimming pool and terrace can be constructed. In fact, many inland areas have their own chiringuitos, a lido with a public outdoor pool, sun terraces and kiosks or restaurants, to give residents somewhere to relax in the sun or escape the heat, cool down and enjoy the outdoors, when they are too far from a beach to get there and back in a day.

For some of the España Vaciada, tourism is well-established but still has potential for growth, and mainly attracts Spaniards seeking short breaks and staycations: Teruel, one of the provinces that suffers the most from de-population, has two immensely-popular and mature ski resorts – small enough to be ‘manageable’ and for repeat visitors to be recognised and feel at home, but with the right facilities for every level from beginners to black-slopers – and, out of season, the same mountains are well-loved by hikers. This means hotels in tiny villages out in the sticks thrive year-round, especially in winter, and offer modern facilities and friendly services.

 

Visibility and decentralised fund management

The association Teruel Existe (‘Teruel Exists’) along with ¡Soria Ya! (‘Soria Now!’) were the main drivers behind today’s march in Madrid, and said: “Each of these 90-plus groups works in isolation in its individual area, but this is the first time we’ve started to come together and work as one. Each of us has its own quirks, needs and demands, but we’re all affected by similar issues: lack of investment in infrastructures [telecommunications, roads, public transport, healthcare facilities, schools, and so on], and we’re proud to have achieved one of our main objectives today: visibility.”

President of Spain Pedro Sánchez had already, with his Council of Ministers, approved new directives – Strategy in the face of demographic challenge, and Strategy for digitalising the agricultural and forestry industries – ahead of the demonstration, and during his speech at the World Tourism Organisation Forum in Segovia, which focused on tourism and innovation as solutions to demographic decline, Sánchez defended an overhaul of the decentralised regional financing system which would target the rural world in order to ‘generate opportunities’ in light of the ‘challenge of empty Spain’, so that ‘living in small village need not be a sacrifice’.

Pepe Polo, representative of Teruel Existe, says the 90-plus associations are pushing for a ‘Scotland-style system’, where the region’s devolved government has its own specialist organisation to manage the threat of de-population and which is not affected by constant central government changes every four years or so. Either that, or for European Union development grants to go directly to affected provinces, so that they can work on solutions independently of central and regional governments.

“We don’t want commissions nominated by governments which will then change each time there’s an election,” Polo explains.

“What we need is tax and financial incentives, complete territorial plans, and major infrastructures that facilitate industry.”

One of the main challenges facing the 53% of Spain facing ongoing exodus is how to move into the 21^st century and provide modern facilities that encourage younger adults to move in and to stay put, without destroying the rural charm that gives them their magic – nobody wants huge factories or massive housing estates, but improvements to existing road networks, more efficient and faster public transport, complete telecommunications coverage and sustainable rural tourism are key to keeping La España Vaciada alive without ruining its beauty or its character.