" Doñana National Park "

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Resulta sorprendente lo fácil que puede ser observar parte de la riqueza natural del Parque Nacional de Doñana. Doñana es un paraje único, no sólo por la variedad de especies tanto vegetales como animales que posee, ni por la diversidad de ecosistemas que alberga (marismas, "cotos", la vera, playas y dunas...); si no también por ser cobijo de varias especies en grave peligro de extinción y una zona con importantes formaciones vegetales y ecosistemas que alcanzan aquí su mayor desarrollo dentro del continente europeo. Igualmente resulta un importantísimo lugar para multitud de aves migratorias tanto del continente europeo como africano. Por todo ello sorprende lo fácil que puede ser observar una parte de este maravilloso entorno con la simple ayuda de unos prismáticos a escasos metros de la carretera, en la aldea de El Rocío.

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 its biotopes, especially lagoons, marshlands, fixed and mobile dunes, scrub woodland and maquis. It is home to five threatened bird species. It is one of the largest heronries in the Mediterranean region and is the wintering site for more than 500,000 water fowl each year.

The park and its buffer zones occupy the right bank of the Guadalquivir River at its

estuary with the Atlantic.

It is situated on quaternary deposits: mainly sand dunes and

groups of shifting dunes, some of which move very rapidly.

Major habitats consist of

lagoons, marsh, fixed and mobile dune fields,

scrub woodland and maquis.

The faunal

inventory includes 8 species of fish, 10 amphibian,

19 reptile, 30 mammal and 360 bird.

The park supports important resident populations of the following threatened species:

Spanish lynx, Adalbert's eagle, marbled teal, and white-headed duck.

Black vulture and red kites are also present,

as are large breeding colonies of waterfowl, herons, egrets and

waders.

It is the most important wintering site for waterfowl in Spain,

receiving hundreds

of thousands of visitors annually,

and is a major stop-over on the route to and from Africa

for migrating Palaearctic migrants.

In general the state of conservation of the park is satisfactory,

but it does face numerous threats

including its increasing isolation by agricultural development,

tourism, poaching,

over-grazing and illegal exploitation of crayfish.

Doñana National Park has been a testing

ground for conservation in Spain

and has become very well known throughout Europe

due to the controversies faced

there and the innovative management approaches that

have been taken.

It is the only protected area that is not only a National Park but also a

Ramsar site, a Biosphere Reserve as well

as a European Community Special Protection Area.

It is also known as the site which triggered the foundation

of WWF in 1961.

Doñana has a known history of over 700 years.

It was the favourite hunting reserve of Spanish kings

such as Philip IV, Philip V and Alfonso XIII.

I

t was owned by the Duchess

of Alba

and formed the backdrop of her portrait by Goya.

The palace of Doñana remains as a testimony to this exalted past.

All Mediterranean wetland sites including Doñana

have been exploited by humans since the beginning of civilization.

Among the uses experienced in and around Doñana

have been drainage of marshes

and conversion to agriculture, grazing, fisheries, mineral and

salt exploitation, hunting, harvesting of wetland vegetation,

forestry plantations, use of pesticides, urban development,

road construction and tourism.

Although it has been affected by a number of human

activities that have reduced its integrity,

Doñana National Park is a resilient system

and nature is still the dominant force.

As the main threats have been averted

and as restoration activities are under way,

the future of the park seems assured.

In the context of a crowded and long-inhabited continent,

Doñana is one of the few national parks in Europe

that can match the international

significance met by parks in other parts of the world.