UNESCO Demands Urgent Action to Protect Doñana
World Heritage status under threat as Spain is urged to accelerate efforts to safeguard the aquifer and migratory bird haven
UNESCO raises the alarm over water mismanagement at Doñana
Doñana National Park, one of Europe’s most important wetlands, is again under international scrutiny as UNESCO demands that Spain take immediate and decisive action to halt its ecological decline. In a statement reported by BirdLife International, the UN body expressed “deep concern about the continued degradation of the wetland” and instructed the Spanish government to submit an updated conservation report by February 2026.
At the heart of UNESCO’s concern lies the over-exploitation of the aquifer that sustains Doñana’s fragile ecosystems. Despite previous efforts to curb illegal water use, the groundwater table continues to drop due to agricultural abstraction, particularly from intensive fruit farming near the park's edges.
“UNESCO has repeatedly warned that current conservation measures are insufficient and too slow,” BirdLife International notes. “They have now set a clear deadline and laid out concrete steps Spain must take to avoid irreversible damage.”
Aquifer crisis threatens key bird species and migratory stopovers
Doñana is world-renowned for its role in supporting migratory waterbirds travelling between Africa and Europe. UNESCO warns that populations of wintering species such as the Marbled Teal, White-headed Duck, Greater Flamingo and Purple Swamphen are declining due to drying marshes and disrupted hydrological regimes.
BirdLife International highlights that “the continued decline of waterbirds is a clear sign of systemic ecosystem collapse.” The park’s status as a sanctuary for countless Waders, Ducks and Herons is at risk unless urgent action is taken to restore water flows and enforce sustainable limits on extraction.
Among the worst affected areas is the Matalascañas resort zone, where wells lie close to the wetland core. UNESCO has called for these wells to be closed or relocated, and for agricultural activity in surrounding areas to comply with the so-called “Strawberry Plan” – a management scheme designed to reduce illegal irrigation and protect the aquifer.
UNESCO outlines six urgent conservation priorities
In its official communication, UNESCO listed six key demands. These include:
- Full implementation of the Special Management Plan, with strict limits on agricultural water use
- Construction of a robust eco-hydrological model to assess how groundwater extraction affects the wetland
- Establishment of sustainable extraction thresholds tied to ecological minimum flows
- Legal closure or relocation of wells near Matalascañas and other sensitive zones
- Increased funding for monitoring, enforcement and research
- A moratorium on any legislative backsliding that could undermine conservation commitments
BirdLife International warns that “without these changes, Doñana may be added to the List of World Heritage in Danger,” a move that would mark a profound failure of environmental stewardship in one of Europe’s most iconic landscapes.
Conservationists call for immediate political resolve
While the Spanish government has sealed nearly 300 illegal wells in recent years and restricted new concessions, UNESCO insists these efforts are not enough. What is needed now, says BirdLife International, is “political will to fully enforce existing laws and prioritise ecological integrity over short-term agricultural profit.”
With Doñana's waterbirds dwindling and hydrological thresholds approaching collapse, the warnings from the global community grow louder. As the February 2026 deadline approaches, the world watches to see whether Spain will act decisively to secure the future of this vital wetland and its avian inhabitants.
July 2025
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