Doñana National Park

The overexploitation of the large Almonte-Marismas aquifer is caused by the cumulative effects of all the domestic uses that consume water, mainly intensive agriculture and human use (see a more detailed description of the effects in the description of overexploitation due to agriculture), and it is difficult to separate the effects that belong to each human activity. In the case of the abstraction of water to supply the town and seaside resort of Matalascañas, especially in the summer when 150,000 to 300,000 tourists arrive, its impact is significant due to the important cone of depression it creates. It is produced by a series of five wells, up to 150 metres deep, which draw water from the aeolian sand subunit of the Almonte-Marismas aquifer. At the same time, some nearby lagoons in the Doñana Biological Reserve, such as Brezo or Charco del Toro, have been permanently dry since 1976 and 2010, respectively (Hollis et al., 1989; Díaz-Paniagua & Aragonés, 2015). The flooded surface and inundation occurrence of other ponds such as Zahillo have also decreased as a direct consequence of groundwater withdrawal in the coastal resort (Dimitriou et al., 2017; Fernández-Ayuso et al., 2018). Santa Olalla permanent pond seems unaffected at the local scale (Fernandez-Ayuso et al., 2019), as it is located further from the pumping wells than the above-mentioned ponds and at a preferential groundwater discharge area (the lower lagoon in the area). The overall impact of the overexploitation has led to a loss of temporary ponds in this sector and the biodiversity supported by them such as birds, plants or amphibians (de Felipe et al., 2023, 2024; Díaz-Paniagua et al., 2024; Garcia Murillo et al., 2025; Green et al., 2024). Permanent ponds have disappeared in Doñana since Santa Olalla dried up in 2022, 2023 and 2024. The combined effect of climate change and overexploitation explains these changes (de Felipe et al., 2023). To address environmental concerns, plans have been put forward to close the wells closer to the affected lagoons. Initially, the plan will relocate the wells to the west of the Matalascañas resort, moving the impact of the cone of depression away from the Reserva Biológica de Doñana, but closer to other relevant wetlands within the Doñana Natural Park. Finally, the plan aims to end groundwater abstraction for public supply by transferring surface water from other sectors of the province. This is expected to take place between 2023 and 2027 (State Party of Spain, 2024a).

A 2023 proposed law to legalise illegal intensive berry farms and their wells was of great concern, yet an agreement between the Spanish and Andalusian Government enabled substantial investments for enhanced protection of Doñana, hydraulic works, and modernizing farms (under the name “Marcos de Actuaciones para Doñana” or Frameworks of actions for Doñana). WWF Spain calculated how the exploitation rate of the aquifer is 109%, meaning that more groundwater is pumped than is recharged (Gil, 2024). Meanwhile the exploitation index of the five water bodies identified in Doñana as calculated by the CHG show values of 78% in the Almonte Masb, 125% in the Marshes Masb, 0% in the Doñana Marshes Masb, 18% in the Doñana Coastal Wind Power Masb and 95% in the La Rocina Masb (CHG, 2023).

An unquantified but substantial reduction in the water demand in the some of the sectors of the five bodies of water is required to reverse the dramatic loss of natural values produced by the overexploitation of the aquifer due to the total amount of water extracted, mostly due to agricultural demand and the supply of human settlements.

The lagoons show a significant generalised tendency to dry up earlier and the flooded surface area is decreasing. Among the lagoons that have disappeared are Moral lagoon, Charco del Toro, Zahillo, Ojillo, Taraje, Madroñas, Tardeo, Pajarillo, Pato, Mogea, Acebuche de las Palomas, Acebuche de Matalascañas, Pino, and Brezo and Brecillo, some of them, due to interventions carried out with conservation objectives to ensure the presence of water in certain circumstances of scarcity for fauna. In addition, 19% of the lagoons have suffered a reduction of more than 50% of their basin in recent years, invaded by scrubland and pine trees (e.g. Navazo del Toro). Only 10% are in good condition, mainly located in La Vera (de Felipe et al., 2023; Green et al., 2024; Revilla, 2023).

The water table drops reach 20 m in some sectors outside the Site, where there have been significant agricultural operations since the declaration of the National Park, and where the previously ascending vertical hydraulic gradient in the discharge zones has been reversed. In the other sectors, the phreatic levels have been lowered from 0.5 to 4 m in some areas (CHG reports; Green et al., 2024; Carmona et al., 2024). Spain is condemned the Court of Justice of the European Union (C-599/19 Doñana), for failing to fulfil its obligations under the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), and the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), by failing to take into account illegal water abstractions for cultivation and water abstractions for urban supply in the estimation of total groundwater abstractions in the Doñana region, and for failing to provide for enough measures to avoid the use of excessive groundwater for agriculture and urban supply. Despite significant measures aimed at reducing abstractions, such as the purchase of the Mimbrales estate by the CHG, which has resulted in the recovery of rights to 6 hm3 of water and has allowed the aquifer to stabilize in this sector, this problem requires immediate action and a comprehensive approach, including better governance and adaptation of agricultural and human water demand to the new conditions imposed by climate change.

Although illegal egg collection and bird and large herbivore poaching have been documented from the World Heritage site, as well as illegal fishing and persecution (poisoning) of wild animals (WWF, 2008), these cases are not significant and are a minority in the daily management of the protected area. Poaching around the property affects endangered waterbird species such as the marbled duck, the red-knobbed coot, the white-headed duck and is also a recurring cause of mortality for the Iberian lynx. Poaching of Purple Gallinule in rice fields around the property has been frequently reported, due to the impact this species has on the crop (IUCN Consultation, 2025). There is is also illegal fishing of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) which returns to breed in the Guadalquivir estuary. Although glass eel fishing has been banned since 2011, illegal fishing remains a problem. However, management authorities have so far prevented this impact from becoming significant.

Numerous roads surrounding the World Heritage site have been targeted to reduce wildlife mortality due to road crashes. One of the measures used to achieve this is fencing the edges of paved roads, which entails a loss of connectivity that is being minimized by constructing wildlife crossings, both underground and elevated, as well as speed deterrents. On many of these roads, mortality has been significantly reduced, although there are still black spots where the measures adopted have not achieved the desired effects. Roadkill mortality has become the main cause of unnatural death of the Iberian lynx, although these deaths are increasingly occurring in areas further away from the World Heritage site due to the expansion of the species and the expansion of its range and the increase in the number of individuals, from 32 to 133. Various plans, regulations and work towards more ecological connectivity have been put in place, however the threat of habitat fragmentation and road kills remains high. The further increase in the number of lanes of A-483 road may increase the overall traffic in the area, worsening the situation unless it is properly mitigated (D'Amico et al., 2025).

The 1998 Aznacóllar mine accident led to the poisoning of the Guadiamar River with heavy metals and other toxic materials, which affected the property (UNEP-WCMC, 2011) and the pollution went into the trophic chain, with heavy metals accumulating in predators (Baos et al., 2024). The relevant authorities responded to this project by designing and implementing one of the most ambitious restoration projects in Europe, resulting in the regeneration of a large Green Corridor that has successfully reversed the effects of most of the damage caused by the spill. In 2013, the regional government issued a public bid for reopening the mine, and in 2015 one international bid was received for a new mining project. This new project has been assessed for several years, and an EAI concluded in 2024 there would be no negative impacts on the property, 42km distance from the mine (State Party of Spain, 2024a).

The new plan for the reopening of the mine proposes an underground exploitation model instead of an open-pit one and the elimination of the inert waste ponds that will be used to seal the excavation pits after treatment for their stabilization and solidification, thus avoiding the existence of ponds like the one that caused the accident in 1998. However, it includes the discharge of wastewater from part of the industrial process, after a purification process, into the Guadalquivir River, moving the potential source of pollution from the Guadiamar river to the Guadalquivir, adding to the discharges of Las Cruces mine in Seville, with potential for cumulative effects. Contamination from industrial water pollution, including on the Guadalquivir River constitutes a threat (CSIC et al., 2011) for the property via the direct connection with the marshes in the south of the area, and indirectly as diffuse contamination via the bird community, as already shown during the Aznalcóllar mine spill (Baos et al., 2024). In any case, this threat is less likely and has less potential to affect Doñana's values than those that existed previously. The World Heritage Committee has urged Spain to prepare a clear risk preparedness plan and rapid emergency response capacities. Additionally, there should be an independent monitoring of the levels of pollution that may enter the property from the Guadalquivir estuary.

In addition, several municipalities on tributaries of the wetlands of the World Heritage site such as Almonte, Rociana de Condado and Matalascañas, used to have insufficient waste water treatment systems in place, although reportedly today the wastewater treatment systems are adapted to European regulations, with secondary treatment systems in most cases.

The combined pollution from various sources of water entering the site with superficial water constitutes a high threat, contributing to the entrance of nutrients and eutrophication, being intensive agriculture an important source of contaminants (Paredes et al., 2021). Additionally, the presence of pesticides is generalized in the water and sediments of the property, including some forbidden chemicals, with effects in the avifauna of the area (Gomara et al., 2008; Peris et al., 2023, 2024). Thanks to the intensive monitoring and the volume of studies and research projects carried out in Doñana, high levels of pharmaceuticals have been detected in the trophic chains of the property, probably in association with livestock management (Kazakova et al., 2021). This knowledge has made it possible to adopt measures to avoid the use of products such as ivermectin within the protected area. Imported water for irrigation comes from the Andevalo-Chanza dams, whose basin is sparsely populated and not intensively cultivated, so its quality is a priori good before entering the farming system.

In July 2020 the Governing Board of the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederation declared the groundwater bodies of La Rocina, Almonte and Marismas as bodies at risk of not achieving good quantitative status, and the groundwater body of La Rocina at risk of not achieving good chemical status. This declaration enabled the use of administrative and legal tools to intervene, including the closure of illegal wells, and the creation of user communities with associated exploitation rights. The other two groundwater bodies in the Doñana aquifer, Almonte and Marismas which have also been declared at risk of not achieving good quantitative status, might be subject to the same measures in 2025 (State Party of Spain, 2024a). Furthermore, in 2021 the European Court of Justice condemned Spain for infringing both the Habitats Directive and the EU Water Framework Directive.

In 2008 and 2009, a large number of fires inside and in the vicinity of the property affected 84,000 ha of the site and its surroundings. Fires affect forest areas in particular and appear to be largely caused by humans, with more than 40% started intentionally (WWF, 2010). In 2017, a large fire which occurred outside of the site threatened the site and even caused the evacuation of the lynx captive breeding center (El País, 2017). The fire affected about 40 species of flora, including the endemic Linaria tursica¸38 species of mammals and 75 species of birds. In addition, 13 habitats of community interest and 3 of primary community interest have been affected (SEO/BirdLife, 2017a). The restoration project for this fire has become a model for restoration by considering an ecosystem approach and adaptation to climate change in its design. No fires have been reported to impact the property since, and the current threat appears to be low, however climate change will also influence the number and intensity of wildfires in future (Green et al., 2017).

Both invasive alien plant (e.g. Eucalyptus, Acacia spp., giant cane Arundo donax, burdock Xantium strumarium, Nicotiana glauca, Spartina densiflora and alien floating fern Azolla filiculoides) and animal species (e. g. American Crayfish Procamburus clarkii in the wetlands, Chinese Mitten Crab Eriocheir sinensis and American blue crab Callinectes sapidus in the Guadalquivir estuary, catfish Ameiurus mela) have been detected inside the property (UNEP-WCMC, 2011; State Party of Spain, 2016, 2024a; Green et al., 2017). 96% of the fish biomass inside the marshland of the National Park are invasive alien species (Moreno et al., 2013). These alien invasive species are currently classed as low threat although they may in effect be a higher threat to the OUV of the site, particularly with climate change and eutrophication of the water. Nevertheless, the community of native species has been substituted by exotic and invasive species, thus reducing the value of the property in preserving this important group of vertebrates in wetlands (ICTS DOÑANA, 2023). Three species of fish have disappeared from the site, caused in part by invasive species (WWF, 2017). Among the species that have proliferated most are the cat's claw (Carpobrotus edulis) and other taxa such as Xanthium strumarium, Gomphocarpus fruticosus and Arctotheca caléndula (State Party of Spain, 2024a).

No impact studies have been carried out since the admission of the 'rocieros'. The pilgrimage of El Rocío attracts more than 40,000 people, with many motor vehicles, who cross areas of high ecological value during the breeding season of birds, which undoubtedly generates important and significant impacts on biodiversity that have never been quantified (SEO/BirdLife, 2022b), e.g. impact on endangered wildlife during reproduction, vandalism, destruction of vegetation, creation of new tracks, fire hazards, noise pollution, solid waste etc.
Independently of the El Rocío pilgrimage, extraordinary pilgrimages by various brotherhoods take place throughout the year (an estimated five or six weekends per year), crossing Doñana to reach the village, generating a cumulative impact. Some of these pilgrimages involve the transit of several thousand people and hundreds of motor vehicles, and although there are no studies on their impact on the natural values of Doñana, for their development a comprehensive Plan is organized that includes reinforced surveillance, establishment of security zones in breeding areas, provision of regulated camping areas, detours and road closures, emergency health or fire devices, etc., to minimize potential effects and risks and guarantee the safety of people and natural systems.

Climate change poses the potentially greatest future risk to the site. In 2022 and 2023 two of the five major ecosystems (marshes and lagoons) almost disappeared due to a major drought while terrestrial ecosystems suffered from widespread vegetation decay, including the death of centenary trees. Yet climate change projections suggest significant reductions in recharge to the aquifer as temperatures increase - 25-55% less for La Rocina and 43-68% less for Marismas (Guardiola-Albert & Jackson, 2011) - which could lead to reduced groundwater levels in the future and cause additional negative impacts (UNESCO/IUCN/Ramsar RMM, 2019). The Guadalquivir Hydrological Plan 2022-2027 (Guadalquivir River Basin Authority, 2022) estimates an increased frequency of droughts, leading to significant temporary reductions in available water resources—one of the greatest threats to Doñana's ecosystems. The wintering patterns of greylag geese are already shifting reportedly due to climate change-related impacts (UNESCO, 2024) which will require close monitoring, which must be addressed through continental-scale analysis, as it far exceeds the scope of the protected area.

Actions are required for the adaptation of the property under climate change, including the restoration of the wetlands functionality. In this sense, since 1998, various marsh restoration projects have been addressed with a multi-million euro investment, through which more than 6,500 hectares of marsh have been restored (Marisma Gallega, Caracoles, Entremuros). Potentially up next is the reconnection of the Caño Guadiamar with the Guadiamar river, ensuring a better flooding regime in the future. This critical restoration action is set out in the agreement between administrations (Marcos de actuaciones para Doñana).

Climate change scenarios for Doñana predict a rise in air temperature from 1°C (2010-2040) to 4°C (2070-2100) (Guadalquivir River Basin Authority, 2021), increasing water temperature, evapotranspiration, and reducing aquifer recharge. This heightened water stress may intensify agricultural impacts by increasing irrigation demand. Groundwater recharge in Doñana is expected to decline by 8–19% by 2039 (CEH-CEDEX, 2021). Doñana has gone 13 years without a wet hydrological year (the last was 2010/11), and the heat has raised the average annual temperature to 18.7 ºC at the Palacio de Doñana weather station, the second highest since records began. Additionally, rising water temperatures will reduce potential habitats for species requiring high dissolved oxygen levels and cold-water ecosystems (Guadalquivir River Basin Authority, 2022). According to current projections, sea level rise will cause the loss of most of the coastal wetlands in the Mediterranean region over the next 70 years and will have a significant impact on Doñana (Spencer et al., 2016; Geijzendorffer et al., 2018). More information about the Guadalquivir estuary is needed, even if there are numerous studies on this sector linked to the environmental impact assessments of maintenance dredging projects on the Guadalquivir River. The purchase of the Veta La Palma and Tierras Bajas estates by the Andalusian Regional Government represents an increase in the property's adaptive capacity to these future scenarios.

Intensive agriculture developed outside the Doñana site has increased water demand in the region for decades, causing a negative impact on both water quantity and quality. Groundwater, which naturally supports the streams and drains that feed the marshes in Doñana, has fuelled the rapid expansion of greenhouses surrounding the park, located in Europe’s largest strawberry production area. Groundwater extractions in the surroundings of the World Heritage site amount to approximately 80 to 100 hm³ per year, sometimes exceeding sustainable limits.

The widespread reduction in groundwater levels due to extraction can reach up to 20 m in some places, even causing a reversal of the upward vertical hydraulic gradient that previously existed in the discharge areas. In other sectors, phreatic levels have dropped by 0.5 to 2 m in some areas. These reductions have led to a decline in groundwater flow into the ponds and streams, potentially resulting in significant ecological damage and impacts on surface water hydrology, aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, and water quality in this World Heritage site. The measures implemented by the competent authorities to alleviate these situations must be accelerated and promoted more decisively.

Extensive livestock farming in the National Park's lands consists of cattle and horses grazing in marshes and scrubland areas, with a small presence of sheep in the Hinojos marsh. The promotion of local breeds, combined with the use of extensive livestock farming and the consumption of organic pastures, enables farmers to receive significant subsidies through European funds.

Despite this, most have ceased to see livestock farming as a business and have instead transformed it into a tradition carrying significant cultural symbolism. The current PRUG establishes the regulations governing livestock activity, considering it a "Traditional Compatible Use."

There are some areas where the vegetation is overgrazed by large herbivores (both domestic and wild species) (Soriguer, 2001), affecting the specific composition of the vegetation and the characteristics of the grasslands. The community of large herbivores is responsible for the removal of 75% of the biomass produced by the grassland annually, pushing it to the limit of its carrying capacity.

Livestock in Doñana is distributed across different exploitation units. The widespread presence of fences separating farms and exclusion or regeneration areas limit free movement of livestock. While this can intensify the impact on some plant communities, it can also avoid the concentration of livestock in sensitive breeding areas. The behavioral patterns of livestock within each farm, seeking the best pastures (vetas and paciles) sometimes significantly affect ground-nesting birds (SEO/BirdLife, 2023), or remaining around watering points, leading to trampling effects. The shrubland is seriously damaged, and consequently, its conservation status is very poor, with some calling for a widespread exclusion of domestic herbivores. The reproductive success of birds in the marsh may be somewhat affected by the presence of livestock, although this effect is more closely linked to the degree of flooding of the wetland and the ability of predators, primarily wild boar, to access the colonies than to the presence of livestock.