Doñana Wetlands: Disappearing Despite 50 Years of Protection… Dear AGU, It is April 20
Doñana Wetlands: Disappearing Despite 50 Years of Protection… Dear AGU, It is April 2022, and we are on a field trip with students of the Master in Techniques and Sciences of Water Quality (University of Granada) at Doñana wetlands (SW Spain). Doñana, established as a National Park by Spanish Government (1969), and recognized as a Biosphere Reserve (1980) and World Heritage Site (1994) by UNESCO, enjoys a high level of protection. Doñana National Park is the culmination of efforts of visionary scientists and renowned naturalists (such as José Antonio Valverde or Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente featured in the bust here). However, despite >50 years of protection, our students identified and discussed a wide range of threats on this “jewel in the crown” of biodiversity, such as the establishment of invasive species, the increasing risk of forest fires linked to droughts and global warming, or new menaces linked to intended projects as the reopening of the Aznalcóllar pyrite mine with planned discharges to the Guadalquivir river, or the projects of extraction and storage of natural gas in Doñana subsoil, with risks of rupture and spill on the main aquifer that nourishes Doñana. Of these, the most alarming current threat on the Doñana ecosystem (as identified by the students), is habitat loss –by drying out– and deterioration –by eutrophication– of its aquatic ecosystems (seasonal ponds, lagoons, and marshlands) due to intensive agriculture in the surrounding watershed. Chief among the solutions proposed by the students is enforcing water withdrawal legal regulations in combination with improving water use and conservation in the watershed. Through raising awareness of the problem and improved environmental education –leading to the recognition that water is the lifeblood of wetlands– and appealing to UNESCO to add Doñana to the List of World Heritage in Danger, we hope wetland biodiversity hot-spots like Doñana can be saved for future generations. Photos, starting from the upper left and going clock-wise, represent the University of Granada group studying eutrophication of Rocina stream in the Doñana watershed; in a visitable part of the coastal dunes of Doñana; under an impressive millennial olive tree at El Rocío village; alongside the bust of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente near Palacio del Acebrón visitors center; marshland vegetation within National Park; adjacent unprotected and water-exploited area. – Juanma Medina-Sánchez, Mani Villar-Argaiz, Pre Carrillo (Departamento de Ecología and Instituto del Agua, Universidad de Granada, Spain) and Bopi Biddanda (Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University, Michigan) https://ecologia.ugr.es, http://www.institutodelagua.es, https://www.gvsu.edu/wri/ -- source link
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