Under-threat wetlands of Doñana National Park to get 356 million euro government aid

The aim is to mitigate the effects that drought and climate change are having on the natural area

JOSÉ LUIS PIEDRA

Friday, 2 December 2022, 10:01

The Spanish Government will invest 356.6 million euros in Doñana with the aim of promoting its ecological revitalisation in the face of the multiple threats to this protected natural area, such as the severe drought that is depleting its water resources.

Doñana National Park, is located south-west of Seville where the Guadalquivir river meets the Atlantic, and is one of the world’s most important wetlands for more than six million migratory birds on their African-European flightpath.

Intensive fruit farming using groundwater at the edge of the park has depleted water reserves, compounded by the drought conditions.

Teresa Ribera, vice-president and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, announced the multi-million euro investment in a visit to the Huelva town of Almonte on Wednesday 30 November.

Ribera said Doñana "is one of the most important natural areas in the world, one of the most emblematic, beloved and spectacular wetlands in Europe, and this obliges us to be particularly careful with this area, and to continue investing in its quality, in its good condition and maintenance".

The minister said that of the total investment, 118 million, or 33 per cent, is already in execution, and foresees the development of measures in the short and medium term in essential areas such as the management of water resources, the conservation and restoration of biodiversity, coastal management of the maritime-terrestrial public domain, and the socio-environmental recovery of the territory.

Ribera criticised the growth of intensive agriculture on the periphery of Doñana. She said a resubmitted legislative proposal to irrigate areas adjacent to the national park was “an outrage” and the “populist” plan went against “the complicated process before the European institutions".

In 2019 the European Commission referred Spain to the EU Court of Justice over a failure to take adequate measures to protect groundwaters by Doñana.

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