“The government in Spain’s northwest region of Catalonia says it spends about 3-million dollars a year rescuing ill-prepared hikers from the region’s mountains…but no more. Now it’s charging reckless hikers for their rescues.”

That’s the synopsis for this radio segment on PRI’s The World. Apparently hikers in Catalonia will now have to follow specific rules on proper hiking preparedness to avoid footing the bill for professional rescue services (which can be many thousands of dollars) should they end up needing them.

I think it will be interesting to hear if this prompts more people to actually get prepared before heading out into the wilderness. Will the financial price of unpreparedness be more incentive for people than the physical price?