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| Doñana National Park | |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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 Wetlands in Doñana |
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| Location | Huelva & Seville |
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| Coordinates | 37°00′00″N 6°30′00″W / 37°N 6.5°WCoordinates: 37°00′00″N 6°30′00″W / 37°N 6.5°W |
| Area | 543 km² |
| Established | 1969 |
| Visitors | 392,958 (in 2007) |
| Governing body | Ministry of the Environment |
| Doñana National Park* | |
|---|---|
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| State Party |  Spain |
| Type | Natural |
| Criteria | vii, ix, x |
| Reference | 685 |
| Region** | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1994 (18th Session) |
| Extensions | 2005 |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO. |
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Doñana National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional de Doñana), also called Coto de Doñana, is a national park and wildlife refuge in southwestern Spain.
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Description
Doñana National Park is located in Andalusia, in the provinces of Huelva and Seville, and covers 543 km², of which 135 km² are a protected area. The park is an area of marsh, shallow streams, and sand dunes in Las Marismas, the Guadalquivir River Delta region where it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The original area was established in 1963 when the World Wildlife Fund joined with the Spanish government and purchased a section of marshes to protect it. There has been a constant threat to the eco-system, that of drainage of the marshes, the use of river water to boost agricultural production by irrigating land along the coast, and the expansion of tourist facilities.[1]
Conservation
In 1989 the surroundings of the national park were given more protection when a buffer zone was declared a natural park under the management of the regional government. The two parks, national and natural, have since been classified as a single natural landscape.
In 1994 UNESCO designated the park a World Heritage Site. UNESCO has also recognised the park as a Biosphere reserve. It is a wetland of international importance on the list of the Ramsar Convention.
The park has a biodiversity that is unique in Europe, although there are some similarities to the Camargue, with which Doñana is twinned. [2] Doñana contains a great variety of ecosystems and shelters wildlife including thousands of European and African migratory birds, fallow deer, Spanish red deer, wild boar, European badger, Egyptian mongoose, and endangered species such as the Spanish Imperial Eagle and Iberian Lynx.
Camels
During the 19th and 20th centuries, a herd of wild dromedaries roamed the area. They may have been introduced during the Moorish Conquest of Spain in the 8th century, or they may have escaped from a herd introduced by the Marquis de Molina as beasts of burden in 1829.[3][4] By the 1950s, there were only eight individuals left, and these were threatened by poachers.[5]
Ecological Risks
Mining pollution
The park and its highly sensitive ecology were threatened in 1998 by a massive spill of metallic waste from a reservoir at the Aznalcollar mine into the Guadiamar River, which flows through the park; however, the spill was diverted into the Guadalquivir River, reprieving the park.
Impact of agriculture
In 2007, World Wildlife Fund warned that strawberry farms surrounding the park, where 95% of Spanish strawberries were produced, threatened to cause catastrophic damage to the park by depleting the surrounding groundwater, notably where illegal boreholes were involved, as well as creating considerable pesticide pollution and plastic waste which was accumulating in local creeks; AFP further reported that WWF was calling for a boycott of Spanish strawberries[6], but this is contradicted by the remarks of a WWF-Spain spokesperson[7], and it is uncharacteristic of WWF to call for blanket boycotts.
Endemic animals
 Purple Heron. |
 Avocet´s baby. |
 Cormorants in the coast of Guadalquivir. |
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 Spanish Lynx, one of the species most popular in the park. |
See also
References
- ^ A History of WWF: [1]
- ^ The twinning is with the Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue. [2]
- ^ Chapman, Abel; Walter John Buck (1893). Wild Spain. London: Gurney and Jackson. pp. 94-101. http://books.google.com/books?id=tdoRAAAAYAAJ.
- ^ Chapman, Abel; Walter John Buck (1910). Unexplored Spain. New York: E. Arnold. pp. 275-282. http://books.google.com/books?id=6M4qAAAAYAAJ.
- ^ Meissner, Hans Otto (1963). Unknown Europe. trans. Florence and Isabel McHugh. London and Glasgow: Blackie & Sons. pp. 100-124.
- ^ "Call for Spain strawberry boycott". BBC News, 16/3/07: [3]
- ^ "How the thirst for strawberries is draining Spain's precious water". The Independent, 14/2/07: [4]
Further reading
- Doñana, Spain's Wildlife Wilderness, Juan Antonio Fernández, Taplinger Publishing Company, New York, 1974, hardcover, 253 pages, ISBN 0-8008-8324-1
- Where to watch birds in Doñana by Jorge Garzón , Francisco Chiclana. (2006) Published by [Lynx Edicions] ISBN 978-84-96553-20-0
- Where to watch birds in Spain. The 100 best sites] by José Antonio Montero & SEO/BirdLife (2006). Published by Lynx Edicions,ISBN 978-84-96553-04-0
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Doñana National Park |
- http://www.andalucia.com/environment/protect/donana.htm
- Doñana Biological Station CSIC
- (Spanish)Parque Nacional de Doñana (Spanish Environment Ministry)
- (Spanish)Doñana: National Park and Natural Park (Regional Government)
- CNN report on the 1998 spill
- Official UNESCO website entry
- report by BBC
- report by ABC
- report by National Geographic
- report by Time magazine
- report by Scientific American
- report by (Daily) Telegraph
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