01/07/2205 – Hundreds
of hectares of agricultural land will be restored
to original marshlands in Spain’s celebrated
Doñana national park following a recent
decision by the park's scientific board.
The Doñana 2005 Restoration Project's
Scientific Board approved the restoration
of 1,600ha of marshes, which were transformed
in the 1970s into low-quality agricultural
land, as well as the removal of 40kms of clay
walls constructed in the 1980s around the
park to initially prevent overflooding from
the nearby Brazo de la Torre riverbed, an
arm of the Guadalquivir River.
Having helped set up the scientific board
in 1999, WWF has long called for the removal
of these surrounding walls.
“Connecting the Doñana marshes naturally
with the river is an important step to returning
the ecosystem back to its original state,
as well as towards wetland management that
respects natural variability,” said Guido
Schmidt, Head of WWF-Spain’s freshwater programme.
“We are also expecting that the local authorities
will work to improve a water treatment upstream,
rehabilitate a nearby mining site, and review
a proposed dredging project on the Guadalquivir
River.”
Doñana National Park in Andalusia
occupies the right bank of the Guadalquivir
River at its estuary on the Atlantic Ocean.
It is notable for the great diversity of ecosystems,
including lagoons and marshlands, as well
as fixed and mobile dunes, and scrub woodlands.
It is home to five threatened bird species,
such as the imperial eagle and the marbled
teal, and is the wintering site for more than
500,000 waterfowl and stopover point for six
million migratory birds each year. It is also
home to of one of the two last remaining populations
of wild Iberian lynx.
According to the most recent comprehensive
survey conducted in 2004 by the Spanish government,
only two isolated breeding populations of
Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) remain in southern
Spain, totaling about 100 animals, with only
25 breeding females. As recently as two years
ago, there were believed to have been at least
160 lynx.
