Its so sad. This is a NATIONAL PARK, a BIOSPHERE RESERVE and has had hundreds of millions in financing over the many years that it has been declared a protected area. Some of the finest biologists and scientists have dedicated their lifes work to this environment and the wildlife that resides here. It is nothing more than a disgrace that the spanish government has allowed, and continues to allow this to happen. So that we can eat strawberries in January?? Really?
And now its going to be an “endangered” world heritage site. What a mess!
UNESCO has granted Spain until December 2024 to provide an updated report on the park’s current state and the efforts made to protect it. The organisation has starkly warned that failing to act could result in Doñana’s inclusion in the list of endangered World Heritage sites.
Juan Carlos del Olmo, Secretary General of WWF Spain, lamented, “UNESCO is once again threatening to add Doñana to the ignominious list of endangered World Heritage Sites. This would be a real disgrace for Andalucia and Spain.” He added, “We hope President Moreno Bonilla heeds this warning and fulfils his international obligations.”
Here is a very short video clip of the situation in August 2023. But, you get the picture
Tal día como hoy, el 14 de agosto de 1969, el Consejo de Ministros aprobaba la creación del Parque Nacional de Doñana. 54 años después esta es la estampa que presenta Santa Olalla, la laguna más grande del parque. Desde que empezamos a tomar datos hace ya más de medio siglo, Santa Olalla nunca se había secado dos años consecutivos, lo cual atestigua la grave situación en la que se encuentra el sistema lagunar de Doñana y, con ello, toda la biodiversidad que depende de él. En uno de nuestros estudios publicado este mismo año, con datos recopilados durante 40 años, se constata que el 59% de las lagunas de mayor tamaño de Doñana han desaparecido ya. Este fenómeno está significativamente relacionado con las altas temperaturas y el largo periodo de bajas precipitaciones que está sufriendo Doñana; pero también con una sobreexplotación del acuífero que alimenta este sistema lagunar. https://www.csic.es/es/actualidad-del-csic/santa-olalla-la-laguna-mas-grande-de-donana-se-seca-por-segundo-ano-consecutivo
Oh and this would be funny if it wasn’t so serious. “Lets buy another 7,500 hectares and place it under the “protection” of a National park that we can’t manage or look after in the first place!