Doñana

Doñana

  • Country: 
    Spain
  • Site number: 
    234
  • Area: 
    111,646 ha
  • Designation date: 
    04-05-1982
  • Coordinates: 
    37°01'N 06°25'W
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

Doñana. 04/05/82; Andalucía; 111,646 ha; 37°01'N 006°25'W. Added to the Montreux Record, 4 July 1990. World Heritage site, UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Special Protection Area EC Directive, Council of Europe Diploma; National Park. A vast coastal marshland complex, separated from the ocean by an extensive dune system and subject to seasonal variations in water level and salinity. Vegetation includes aquatic species, salt-tolerant plants, Pinus pinea forest, and grassland. The area is of international importance for numerous species of breeding, staging and wintering waterbirds, and supports several rare or endanered species. Human activities include nature conservation, charcoal production, bee keeping, wood gathering, fishing, and livestock grazing. The impact of mass tourism and intensive irrigated agriculture in the surrounding area are concerning. Development of tourism, agriculture, and transport are factors influencing management of this vast complex. Fears that these activities are causing over-exploitation of regional aquifers, leading to a drop in groundwater levels and a reduction in the extent and duration of seasonal flooding in the marshes, resulted in the site's designation to the Montreux Record in 1990. Subject of a Ramsar Advisory Mission in 2002. Area extended from 50,720 to 111,646 hectares, April 2007. Ramsar site no. 234. Most recent RIS information: 2007.

Administrative region: 
Andalucía

  • Global international designation: 
    • World Heritage site
    • UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
  • National legal designation: 
    • Humedal Andaluz
    • Parque Nacional
    • Parque Natural
  • Regional (international) legal designations: 
    • EU Natura 2000
  • Last publication date: 
    01-01-2007

Downloads

Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)

Site map

Additional reports and documents

Ramsar Advisory Missions