Cota Doñana is a Spanish border wetland that stands out as one of the most important World Heritage Sites in Europe, with 4 Natura 2000 sites within its boundaries. 6 million birds migrate through the area, situated strategically at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, on Spains small Atlantic coast. WWF owned 6,794 hectares of Doñana before handing much of the land to the Spanish National Research Council. Now they are revealing multiple threats to the ecosystems, mirroring other major problems that affect water and drainage in Asia, California and Africa.
Now the massive use of the marshes as a great ecosystem of services to both humans and wildlife is under threat. Ricefields and fish and prawn nurseries fit neatly into the natural systems of the wetland, leaving agriculture quite dominant in some areas. But dredging affects many delicate river species and damages both fishermens livelihood and the natural balance. More impacts from toxic mine waste pollution and water extraction from illegal wells have reduced both quality and quantity of the large…
