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Groundwater extraction poses extreme threat to Doñana World Heritage Site

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 6, pages 654–655 (2022)Cite this article

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Doñana became internationally famous in the 1950s, when its spectacular bird concentrations were threatened by development plans (for example, drainage and the planting of exotic Eucalyptus for pulp). A pioneering campaign in the early days of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) led to the initial declaration of a scientific reserve of about 7,000 ha in 1964, primarily to save birds. The reserve was founded along with the Doñana Biological Station (arguably the most prestigious ecological and evolutionary research institution in Spain today), testimony to the immense value of Doñana for science in general and for training conservation biologists in particular. The original protected area was later expanded and declared a national park, and then a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site, which lies within a larger ‘Natural Space’ protected within the Natura 2000 Network and the Ramsar Convention2. Despite the hugely important biodiversity of Doñana, its existence remains threatened by local anthropogenic stressors — particularly the expansion of intensive agriculture, and resulting groundwater extraction and pollution5.

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Fig. 1: Doñana National Park in Spain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Conservation and Ecosystem Restoration, Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (CSIC), Jaca, Spain

    Carlos Camacho

  2. Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain

    Juan J. Negro

  3. Faculty of Natural Sciences, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden

    Johan Elmberg

  4. Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Anthony D. Fox

  5. Wetlands International, Ede, the Netherlands

    Szabolcs Nagy

  6. School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

    Deborah J. Pain

  7. Department of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain

    Andy J. Green

Authors
  1. Carlos Camacho
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  2. Juan J. Negro
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  3. Johan Elmberg
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  4. Anthony D. Fox
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  5. Szabolcs Nagy
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  6. Deborah J. Pain
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  7. Andy J. Green
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Correspondence to Andy J. Green.

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Camacho, C., Negro, J.J., Elmberg, J. et al. Groundwater extraction poses extreme threat to Doñana World Heritage Site. Nat Ecol Evol 6, 654–655 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01763-6

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