PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Doñana is a unique natural area in Europe thanks to the richness and variety of habitats and species of Community interest it holds. Marshes, lagoons, dunes and scrublands give shelter to important fauna and flora populations: more than 6 million migratory birds and some of the most threatened species of Europe such as the Iberian Lynx and the Imperial Eagle. Because of its extreme importance, this area has been declared a National Park and is proposed to integrate the Natura 2000 Network both as a Special Protection Area for birds and Site of Community Importance.
Although Doñana has management mechanisms that guarantee the preservation of habitats and species inside its borders, outside these, several threats remain. These are associated with social tensions and soil use and result in practices non-compatible with nature conservation that affect the habitats’ dynamics and the survival of some priority species.
OBJECTIVES
This Life project aimed to contribute in a significant way to the consolidation of nature conservation in Doñana and its surroundings. It foresaw the purchase of several private properties in the surroundings of the protected area that were a source of conflict. Some of these areas were of key importance to control the threats upon habitats and species, and are essential to the adequate management of water.
After the acquisition of the land, their management would become compatible with the objectives of the conservation of a natural area of such importance. Those areas would then become part of the protected area and would also be proposed to integrate the Natura 2000 Network.
This action would provide Doñana with boundaries more adequate to an effective management and conservation of its fauna, flora and habitats.
RESULTS
Nature-conservation wise, the project objectives were largely accomplished, since public control was gained over the site’s northern surroundings known as “Triángulo Norte” with the acquisition of “Los Mimbrales” and “Najarsa” estates.
The Aznalcóllar mining spill occurred in 1998 required extremely rapid action, and this did not allow for effective coordination of the Basin Authority and the National Park’s Authority for the purchase and restoration of “Los Mimbrales” to remain in the project, although the restoration was made in keeping with the principles set in the LIFE proposal. The beneficiary was only able to acquire the plots remaining private in “Najarsa”, and the purchase of plots in “La Rocina”, a very conflictive sector, remained as a challenge for the future after failing to fulfil it within the LIFE project. Technically, the project execution only reached 14% of the budget foreseen.
The project entailed direct benefits for the Natura 2000 site and the habitats and species targeted. Although not completely achieved within the project, public ownership over the “Triángulo Norte” sector ensures the control of threats over a strategic area for the site’s conservation. The lands were entirely devoted to nature conservation and the first restorations undertaken in “Los Mimbrales”, directed by the beneficiary, were very well performed and proved very positive for the overall ecological coherence of the site’s hydrological system and habitats.
Indeed, the functionality of the brooks “Soto Grande”, “Soto Chico” and “La Arenilla” towards the overall ecosystem was reinstated. The riparian habitats, of which some relicts remained in the estate, underwent restoration and other habitats completely replaced by croplands when the estate was transformed are also recovering. The agricultural recent, and fortunately short, past was scarcely perceived soon after restoration.
The commitment to enlarge the Natura 2000 site to include the land acquired is progressing. A 3.400-ha enlargement (8%) that included the purchased land was approved by the National Park’s Steering Committee in January 2004 and then went on for approval by Council of Ministers. A parallel process to be undertaken by the regional government (Junta de Andalucía) will lead to the enlargement of the pSCI/SPA.
The acquisition of land in the National Park and its buffer zone was one of the management priorities in the site before the project start, and will remain as such in the long-term. However, the particular circumstances in which the project was implemented, in parallel with the large-scale restoration –many times linked to compulsory purchase processes- required after the Aznalcóllar mining spill prevented the full realisation of any incentive or pump-priming effects for the project.
However, the contribution of the LIFE support to enlarging the site towards areas essential for its long-term conservation, despite small, is valuable, and has become part of important foundations for future, more ambitious enlargements. Indeed, the 3.400-ha enlargement promoted by the beneficiary to include the purchased land in the National Park was followed by a 7.000-ha enlargement proposal by the regional government co-managing the site (Junta de Andalucía) to include two remarkable locations of strategic importance for the long-term conservation of Doñana: the ecological corridor key for Iberian lynx, “La Rocina”, and “Doñana Beach”, where remarkable sand dune habitats had been threatened for a long time by urban development linked to tourism.
