Archive March 26, 2025

The wildfires that once scorched the forests above the Spanish village of Barro each summer have all but disappeared since Lucia Perez began grazing wild horses in the area.

“There used to be fires every year, but since 2019 when we started coming here, we’ve had one small fire in the first year and nothing since,” Perez, 37, said. She explained that the horses help reduce the risk of wildfires by clearing the undergrowth between trees, preventing fires from igniting and spreading.

Fire prevention is just one of the ecological benefits wild horses provide in Galicia, a region in northwestern Spain known for its delicate ecosystems.

Scientists said Europe’s largest herd of wild horses plays a key role in maintaining these landscapes although the population has dropped dramatically. In the 1970s, about 22,000 wild horses roamed the region’s mountains, forests and heathlands. Today, only half remain.

On the Serra da Groba heathland, located 80km (50 miles) southwest of Barro, wild horses feed on the yellow flowers of gorse – a highly combustible plant. “By selectively clearing [gorse], the horses help prevent wildfires,” said Laura Lagos, a researcher at the University of A Coruna.

Horse grazing allows other plants, such as purple-flowering heather and white asphodels, to flourish, Lagos explained. “It also helps preserve the heather around peat bogs, which are abundant in sphagnum mosses – one of the most effective ecosystems for capturing carbon,” she said.

A 2021 study by the University of A Coruna in which Lagos participated found that wild horse grazing was the most effective method for preventing wildfires, promoting plant biodiversity and capturing carbon. The study compared this method with other land uses, including planting long-term pine forests, short-term eucalyptus plantations and grazing by domesticated animals.

Although sheep and cattle can also help reduce wildfire risks through grazing, Lagos noted that wild horses are uniquely adapted to Galicia’s rugged terrain. She highlighted one distinctive characteristic: “moustaches that appear designed to protect their lips from the prickly gorse.”

Hotter, drier weather due to climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of wildfires in Galicia. From 2001 to 2023, fires burned through 970sq km (375sq miles) in the region, according to Global Forest Watch.

This trend has coincided with the proliferation of eucalyptus trees, brought to Galicia from Australia by a missionary in the 19th century. The trees are pyrophytes, meaning they rely on fire to release and disperse their seeds. Their spread has contributed to heightened fire risks while also reducing grazing pastures for wild horses because only ferns grow beneath them.

Galicia’s eucalyptus forests now account for 28 percent of the region’s total tree population, according to a local government study. The demand for eucalyptus wood from regional pulp mills has driven the expansion of these plantations.

The history of wild horses in Galicia dates back thousands of years. Rock carvings of horses being hunted by humans suggest their presence in the region during the Neolithic period.

Over time, humans and horses developed a symbiotic relationship. Known as “besteiros” in the Galician dialect, people traditionally monitored the health of free-roaming horses in exchange for occasionally domesticating or selling them for meat.

Once a year, the horses were rounded up during events called “rapa das bestas”, or “shearing of the beasts”. During these gatherings, the animals were deloused, vaccinated and had their manes trimmed to prevent wolves from catching them.

Today, the “rapa das bestas” has evolved into a cultural festival. The most famous event in Sabucedo draws thousands of tourists annually, who gather to watch locals wrestle wild horses to the ground for treatment.

While these traditions continue to honour the connection between Galicia and its wild horses, the growing risks of climate change, habitat loss and declining herd numbers highlight the urgent need to protect both the horses and the ecosystems they sustain.

Donald Trump, the president of the US, has urged world powers to boost mineral production.

The United States has agreed to help Russia boost its agricultural and fertiliser exports to the world market in exchange for a maritime security deal in the Black Sea.

The White House, the Kremlin and Ukraine announced the deal on Tuesday after teams from the US and Russia met in Saudi Arabia to carve out a pathway towards peace in Ukraine.

These negotiations came amid the Trump administration’s push to end the war in Ukraine that has dragged on since 2022. President Donald Trump shifted US policy on Ukraine by proactively engaging with Moscow and accepting some of its biggest demands, including ruling out Ukraine’s NATO membership.

Here is what the latest deal is about:

What is the Black Sea deal about?

A statement released by the White House on Tuesday said Ukraine and Russia had agreed to stop the use of force and the military use of commercial vessels in the Black Sea.

The White House also issued an almost identical statement, suggesting that the US and Ukraine had agreed to these terms.

The Kremlin issued a statement, adding that the US and Russia would organise “appropriate control measures through inspection of such vessels”, without specifying what these measures would be.

In return, the US will “help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions”, the White House statement said.

But the Kremlin statement was more specific in terms of Russia’s demands: it added that the pause on fighting in the Black Sea would come into force only after sanctions are lifted from the Russian agricultural bank, Rosselkhozbank, alongside other financial organisations which work with international food trade, including that of fish products and fertilisers. The Kremlin statement added that these organisations must be connected to the SWIFT system and any sanctions and restrictions on food, fertiliser, ships and agricultural machinery must be lifted.

SWIFT, which stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is an international financial artery which allows for the better flow of funds transfers across borders. A month after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, seven Russian banks were removed from SWIFT. Rosselkhozbank was removed a few months later, in June 2022.

Since the beginning of the war, the US and its allies have placed at least 21,692 sanctions on Russian individuals, media organisations, or institutions in the military, energy sector, aviation, shipbuilding and telecommunications sectors.

The statements said the US and Russia “welcome the good offices of third countries with a view toward supporting the implementation of the energy and maritime agreements”. While the statements did not mention specific countries, Turkiye has previously mediated a Black Sea grain deal, and India has helped convince Russia to stick with it.

What else did the White House and Kremlin say?

Both the White House and Kremlin statements said Washington and Moscow would “develop measures” to implement an earlier agreement between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin over a phone call on March 18 to halt attacks on Russian and Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

This agreement was accepted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But as in the past, details remain vague. The latest US and Russian statements do not specify the “measures” that would lead to a halt in attacks on energy infrastructure. Since this agreement, Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of attacking energy infrastructure.

The Kremlin statement added that there is a possibility of “extension and withdrawal from the [ban on energy strikes] agreement in the event of non-compliance by one of the parties”.

How did Zelenskyy respond?

In his nightly video address posted to his X account on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said, “Ukraine is ready to work as swiftly as possible and with absolute transparency to end the war.”

However, he expressed distrust in Moscow, saying: “There is something that the Kremlin is lying about again: that allegedly the silence in the Black Sea depends on the issue of sanctions, and that allegedly the start date for the silence in the energy sector is March 18.”

“If there is renewed military activity in the Black Sea, if Russian manipulations and threats continue, then new measures will need to be taken, specifically against Moscow,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said further discussions were needed to iron out the details of the Black Sea deal.

“The Ukrainian side emphasizes that all movement by Russia of its military vessels outside of Eastern part of the Black Sea will constitute violation of the spirit of this agreement, will be regarded as violation of the commitment to ensure safe navigation of the Black Sea and threat to the national security of Ukraine,” Umerov wrote in an X post on Tuesday. He added that in this scenario, Ukraine “will have full right to exercise right to self-defense”.

“For the effective implementation of the arrangements, it is important to hold additional technical consultations as soon as possible to agree on all the details and technical aspects of the implementation, monitoring and control of the arrangements,” Umerov wrote.

What were the talks on the Ukraine war in Saudi Arabia?

From March 23 to 25, a delegation from the US met separately with Russian and Ukrainian teams in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh.

The Russian delegation was led by diplomat Grigory Karasin, who has previously been deputy foreign minister and ambassador to the United Kingdom. Alongside Karasin, the Russian team also included Sergei Beseda, a veteran of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). The Ukrainian delegation was led by Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and Pavlo Palisa, a top military adviser to Zelenskyy.

The Reuters news agency reported that the US team included White House National Security Council’s senior director, Andrew Peek, and Director of Policy Planning Staff Michael Anton, according to a source briefed on planning for the talks in Riyadh.

How did we get here?

This deal is a resumption of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, struck in 2022 with the mediation of the United Nations and Turkiye.

The initiative entailed a three-year memorandum of agreement allowing the safe export of 33 million metric tonnes of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea despite the war. In return, UN officials agreed to facilitate Russian food and fertiliser exports to foreign markets.

In 2023, Moscow pulled out of this deal, citing difficulties and hurdles in exporting its own food and fertilisers. While Russian food and fertiliser companies are not the target of Western sanctions, Moscow said restrictions on logistics, payments and insurance fees had hindered shipping.

In advance of the talks in Riyadh, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told CBS News on March 23 that the resumption of the grain deal would be the main focus of the talks. “We are now going to talk about a Black Sea maritime ceasefire so that both sides can move grain, fuel, and start conducting trade again in the Black Sea,” he said.

Could the deal help restore peace over the Black Sea?

John E Herbst, a senior director at the Washington, DC-based think tank Atlantic Council, called the deal a “useful step, but not a major one” in an analysis published on its website. This is because the Black Sea has not seen major military activity after Ukrainian naval drones chased the Russian Black Sea Fleet out of Crimea, he added.

On the other hand, Matthew Kroenig from the Atlantic Council wrote that the announcement was “a step toward circumscribing the conflict on the road to eventual peace”.

Daniel Fried, the Weiser Family distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council, had a different view, however.

“The United States risks being sucked down a rabbit hole of concessions, easing pressure on Russia while Russian forces continue to attack Ukrainian cities and civilians,” Fried wrote on the Atlantic Council website. “Today’s deal is no peace through strength.”

What’s next?

Future talks between the US and Russia would see the involvement of the UN and other countries, Russian news agency TASS reported, citing Karasin.

“Everything was discussed – there was an intense, challenging dialogue, but it was very useful for us and for the Americans,” Karasin said.

“We will continue to do this, involving the international community, first of all, the United Nations and individual countries,” said Karasin, without specifying which individual countries he was talking about.

“In general, the impression was of a constructive dialogue, which is needed and necessary. The Americans are also interested in this.”

How is Europe viewing the Riyadh talks?

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to hold talks on Thursday to discuss a “coalition of the willing” that the British leader had announced on March 2.

The idea is that a coalition of Ukraine’s willing European allies would devise terms for peace and present them to the US, and potentially play a prominent role in offering security guarantees to Ukraine under any peace agreement with Russia.

However, Europe has been kept out of the recent discussions in Saudi Arabia, and the coalition was not mentioned in the White House and Kremlin’s statements.