Common lands are a legacy of the Roman Empire, reinterpreted during the Middle Ages (Chouquer, 2019), and progressively disappearing over the centuries. However, this form of collective and solidarity‑based land management continues to exist in many countries—especially in mountain regions—and since the late 20th century it has been reconsidered as a promising model for the future.

In Galicia, communal lands have particular importance and are known as Montes Veciñais en Man Común (MVMC), while in Portugal they are called Baldíos. Galician Civil Law establishes these lands as inalienable and protected from real‑estate speculation (Law 13/1989, of October 10). Traditionally, local rural communities used them to secure their subsistence: grazing, agricultural fields, forest use, and water management.

From the mid‑19th century onward, many of these communal areas were converted into productive forest plantations, and during the Franco regime, the intervention of the State Forestry Heritage (PFE) contributed to separating farmland from woodland. Since the late 20th century, communities have regained collective management, developing forest management plans with the support of the Galician Regional Government and combining forest and agricultural uses. The forestry economy remains strong, dominated by pine and eucalyptus. The latter occupies nearly 20% of Galicia’s forest area but represents more than 60% of the timber harvested each year.

By the end of 2018, Galicia recorded 3,312 community‑managed forests across its four provinces. The province of Ourense stands out, accounting for almost 38% of the total, and is also one of the most severely affected by forest fires in Spain, the second most impacted country in Europe. In this context, the MVMC model remains a key historical and cultural tool with social, economic, and environmental relevance.

Today, the areas most prone to wildfires are those suffering rural abandonment, and MVMC communities are organizing to better protect their forest resources. The reintroduction of grazing and perennial crops helps break up forest continuity, reducing the risk that small rural fires escalate into extreme wildfires, as occurred in the summer of 2025.
To this end, several communities have developed agroforestry districts, instruments promoted by the Galician Regional Government since 2021. These aim to “recover and put into production land with high productive capacity that is abandoned, underused, or can be optimized,” creating profitable areas starting at 10 hectares and requiring the agreement of owners representing more than 70% of the land. In practice, land fragmentation complicates the implementation of these districts, but MVMCs advance more quickly by leasing specific strategic plots to third parties through cultivation contracts.

Martin Codax vineyard in DO Monterrei in MVMC agroforestry district

Meanwhile, in Galicia and northern Portugal (see the FIRE‑RES Living Lab in Vale do Sousa), wineries struggle to find profitable, continuous plots of land—despite widespread land abandonment—due to extreme parcel fragmentation. Agroforestry districts provide access to attractive areas, often over 20 hectares, through 20‑year leases, many of them in strategic fire‑prevention zones. This summer, they proved their effectiveness by offering safe operational areas for firefighting teams and through cultivated perimeters that act as firebreaks.

Martin Codax vineyard in DO Rías Baixas in MVMC agroforestry district

The Martín Códax winery has invested in new plantations within several agroforestry districts, six of which have been certified as strategic in the Rías Baixas DO (Goián, O Corgo, Pe Redondo, Leirado, Luneda) and three in the Monterrei DO (Vences, Vilardevós, Castrelo do Val), an area known for frequent wildfires. Cultivated areas range from 4 to more than 60 hectares, surrounded by forests managed by the winery itself with biodiversity goals and, in some cases, tourism development in mind.