Background The shift from traditional forms of farming and grazing to "modernised" forms that are intensive and heavily industrialised, and the disappearance in parallel to this of farming in large spaces, have created clear problems of environmental, economic and social sustainability.The Dehesas, which are forested areas used for grazing and visible models of sustainable management of agripastoral resources, are confronted with this situation. The techniques to domesticate the Mediterranean forest have generated an ecosystem of great biological and ecological diversity. The traditional Dehesa's survival and adaptation to the present and future economic system is faced with serious difficulties. One of these difficulties is the small amount of capital available in relation to the amount of capital tied up. The result of this today is that the Dehesa's profitability is more linked to the increase in value of the farm than to the income generated by what the farm produces. The owners therefore tend not to be interested in sustainable farming, lacking the available funds to make improvements that would preserve the Dehesas. The farms exceed their natural capacity to feed the livestock by giving them artificial feed and in so doing contribute to the widespread intensification of farming. This notonly leads to erosion and causes water pollution because of the rampant use of fertilizer and liquid manure but also reduces the biodiversity of the area where endangered species are the first victims. However, the gradual disappearance of extensive methods of farming which are sustainable and a traditional characteristic of the Dehesas is a trend that is continuing. In a bid to remedy this situation and find a solution to the excessive cost of subsiding agriculture, the new Common Agricultural Policy is trying to replace production subsidies with quality subsidies and is giving special attention to the development of agri-environmental measures. Objectives The project's main objective is to demonstrate the economic viability of an extensive farming model that can be used to cope with the decline in traditional farming. The introduction of intensive farming has already caused the disappearance of over 20,000 ha of grassland and is currently causing damage on 250,000 ha in the Los Pedroches area. A protocol for intervention therefore needs to be defined where by products bearing a quality label can be produced and sold on a market that appreciates their added value. At the same time, guidelines have to be laid down so that the future aid granted by the European institutions for the Dehesas is more environmentally effective. Results The project has been closed anticipatively.