Posted on 19 January
2011 - Seville, Spain – Spain’s management
of the renowned bird migration refuge at
Doñana comes under review tomorrow,
as international experts begin assessing
multiple threats from illegal farming and
proposed dredging and oil pipeline construction.
The Doñana National
Park, recognised through World Heritage,
Biosphere Reserve status and as a Wetland
of International Importance is regarded
as one of the most significant wetlands
and bird migration stopover points in the
world.
Scientific experts from
UNESCO, the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the International
Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar) today begin
three days examining what Spain imperatively
needs to do to maintain Doñana’s
international recognition.
Doñana was declared
a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO (1981), a
World Heritage Site (1994) and listed under
the Ramsar Wetland Convention (1984).
WWF, associated for
50 years with efforts to preserve Doñana,
has identified three key threats to the
southern Spanish park’s integrity.
From the east, the further
dredging of the Guadalquivir river to two
metres deeper would allow larger ships 80
kilometres upstream to the port of Seville
will further damage the functioning of the
river estuary and therefore the wildlife
on the marshes and beaches of the protected
reserve.
From the northwest,
thousands of acres of illegal strawberry
farming and the digging of illegal wells
have reduced flows from the aquifer to the
wetlands to just 10 percent of natural levels
in some areas.
To the south, the planned Balboa oil pipe
would run 200 kilometres across the Doñana
protected area. The project would also double
the number of oil tankers along the coast
each year and dramatically magnify the risk
of a devastating marine oil spill.
“Doñana’s protection
is not just a matter of local or national
concern, it is of international relevance,”
said Jim Leape, Director General of WWF
International. “Spain has to take important
decisions to guarantee the conservation
of Doñana and the international momentum
given by this mission will be crucial in
this respect.”
Juan Carlos del Olmo,
General Manager of WWF Spain said that “Doñana
is part of the environmental history of
this country and the natural reserve has
earned all its distinctions after years
of hard work on the conservation front.
“Unfortunately Doñana
is now hanging tough as an island, little
by little witnessing how it’s borders are
being constantly attacked by three threats
that might knock down the future of this
iconic protected area.
“It’s the governement’s
decision now to make sure Doñana
is safe and protected from these three unacceptable
and dangerous projects”.
