The Vice-President of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, has updated today in the Council of Ministers the Framework of Actions for Doñana endowed with 356.75 million euros. This plan, presented in Almonte (Huelva) on November 30, 2022 to mayors, representatives of agrarian associations, environmentalists and scientific experts, has as its main objective to reverse the environmental degradation of the National Park and recover its ecological functioning with measures in the short and medium term.
Doñana is one of the most important wetlands in Europe from an environmental point of view and is under intense pressure. Today, April 25, it is precisely 25 years since the rupture of the Aznalcóllar Mining Raft that produced a toxic spill in this space. More than 5 million m3 of toxic sludge and about 2 million m3 of acidic water contaminated about 40 km of the Guadiamar and Agrio rivers.
In recent years there has been a great growth of intensive agriculture on the periphery of this space and the irrigation associated with this activity is causing a decrease in the water table. This, added to the droughts that are occurring more and more frequently, have caused the deterioration of a National Park of which Vice-President Teresa Ribera has stressed that it is the “only Spanish natural space that has all the figures of protection at international level, including the Declaration of World Heritage by UNESCO in 1994”.
MEASURES
The measures it envisages are based on three fundamental principles:
• Closure of illegal wells and strict control, through remote sensing and remote control, of those that already have consolidated water rights.
• Replacement of the use of groundwater with surface water — always without increasing the irrigated area — and purchase and renaturation of land currently under irrigation.
• Biodiversity conservation and restoration measures.
The declaration of three bodies of groundwater “at risk”, in July 2020, has allowed to increase the control of extractions and the closure of wells: 701 have already been closed and 428 are in the process of closing. In the “at risk” bodies of groundwater, user communities are being formed that group farmers in each aquifer area and elaboration and approval of “Action Programs” and “Extraction Plans” for each user community. “The schedule of works and investments makes it possible to close all extractions in 2025 and guarantee the coverage of the supply rights of urban centers and irrigation rights with surface water,” Ribera stressed at the press conference following the Council of Ministers.
In addition, the replacement of underground resources by surface allows the closure of “legal wells” and, in this way, reduce the extractions on the aquifer. This replacement is carried out mainly by means of two infrastructures: transfer of 19.99 hm3/year, coming from the Tinto-Odiel-Piedras basin; additional volume of 8 hm3/year through the re-growth of the El Agrio Reservoir.
These works are completed in phases with the parallel processing of the corresponding concessions. The replacement of resources of 3.1 hm3/year for the urban supply of various localities of the region of El Condado and 4.26 hm3/year for the irrigation of 815 ha in the community of irrigators of El Fresno-Guadalquivir are already operational. The El Agrio Revival Project is also being completed with forecasts for the start of works in 2024 and completion in 2026.
In addition, the Framework of Actions for Doñana foresees an investment of 100 million for the acquisition of land with water rights that currently prevent the connection of the Guadiamar River with the Marshes. The acquisition will begin in 2024.
In the field of sanitation and purification, the adequacy of the treatment of the WWTP of Seville is already in execution in an agreement with EMASESA, with an allocation budget of 72 M€. It is estimated that it will be completed by the end of 2024.
Also the treatment plants of Isla Mayor (4.9 M€) and Gerena (5.8 M€) through an agreement with Aljarafesa. The completion of the works is expected at the end of 2024.
Other performances in treatment plants in Escacena del Campo, Lucena del Puerto, Moguer and Sanlúcar. Start execution at the end of 2024 and completion in 2026
The project to expand the Matalascañas WWTP is currently in the process of studying alternatives and is expected to be completed in 2027.
BIODIVERSITY
The Doñana Action Framework budgeted 12.9 million for the improvement of ecological connectivity and the reduction of habitat defragmentation. These actions will be added to the LIFE programs that are already giving excellent results. The latest data regarding Iberian lynxes surpass for the first time the hundred copies in Doñana. As for the Cerceta Pardilla, the most threatened duck in Europe, in 2022 the population in Andalusia has increased to 44 couples. For its part, the imperial eagle has gone from 70 breeding pairs in 2011 to 136 pairs in 2022.