This acquisition of the 7.500-hectare 'Veta La Palma' estate represents the greatest environmental milestone carried out in the last 45 years in Doñana after the 1978 expansion.
It will increase the surface of the Doñana national park by 14% and will prevent 3.500 hectares that house 60% of the birds from drying out
These lands are key to the biodiversity of Doñana due to their high ecological value, comparable to the most valuable areas of the Park.
News of the Veta la Palma estate
December 19th 2023. The Government Council will authorize "imminently" the purchase of 7.500 hectares of the Veta la Palma farm, located in the municipality of La Puebla del Rio (Seville) and which is part of the Doñana National Park, for an amount of 72,6 million euros (Europa Press).
The objective of the Andalusian Government is to keep the more than 3.500 hectares that are at risk of losing water due to the closure of fish farms in the area flooded, thereby avoiding the loss of biodiversity in this area and the negative repercussions on habitats and animal species.
The estimated valuation of the land is around 70 million euros, in the absence of the latest reports. This is the most important operation to incorporate land into public ownership since the declaration of the Doñana National Park and the most important environmental milestone in Doñana in the last 45 years, after the expansion of the National Park in 1978.
Why has the Government of Andalusia made this decision?
Because it is the only way to avoid a severe blow to the Doñana National Park, preventing the more than 3.500 hectares that are currently artificially flooded from ceasing to have water after the closure of the fish farms.
What will happen if the property is not acquired and there is a lack of water on the land?
The flooded surface of the Doñana Natural Area will decrease by more than 3.500 hectares and Doñana will be much less resilient without 'Veta La Palma' flooded. It will reduce the diversity of habitats and the adaptation capacity of the entire wetland to climate change will be drastically reduced.
The aquaculture birds will disappear when the area is left without flooding – some years and at some times of the year, it is home to more than 300.000 aquatic birds (60% of the Doñana bird census).
The habitat of 1.200 pairs of 17 species of threatened, rare or vulnerable birds will disappear, such as the gray teal, which is “critically endangered”
of extinction, according to the Doñana Biological Station. The capacity of the natural environment for birds in the entire protected area will decrease in dry years.
What does the purchase of these lands entail?
The 7.500 hectares will become public property and a scientific research process will be opened by universities and technicians from the Ministry of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy to determine the projects that improve the environmental conditions of this wetland. The process will end with the drafting of a Strategic Plan of Environmental Actions for Doñana.
The priority objective of this research, study and investment process is for this Natural Space to be considered a National Park, as long as it meets the necessary indicators for its designation. In this way, the surface of the Park would increase by 14%.
What are the actions that will be carried out to maintain biodiversity?
The purchase of these lands is a commitment by the Andalusian Government to improve and enhance the values that make Doñana a unique ecosystem in the world. Therefore, the actions that will be carried out in the very short term are:
- Home. Improve the environmental functionality of the Bocón, Cuquero Grande and Cuquero Chico pikes. The connection of the systems will be reinforced at the end of summer or at the beginning of dry autumns, and even in summer periods when rice fields are not grown in the vicinity of the farm.
- Away. Recondition the area for the reproduction of waterfowl, promoting the production of fish farming units. The small ponds will be reconnected, islands will be created and the area will be protected against predation by wild boars and foxes.
- Third. Improve extensive ponds. Specifically, two ponds of 70 hectares each, whose edges will be profiled for greater naturalization and revegetation of the slopes.
What does the 'Veta La Palma' Estate in Doñana represent?
It is a farm of more than 10.000 hectares that occupies almost half of the Isla Mayor del Guadalquivir and is framed by the river and one of its arms (the Brazo de la Torre). It is considered a Ramsar Zone for being a wetland of international relevance and is part of the Natura 2000 Network (Special Conservation Area) and Special Protection Area for Birds.
In 'Veta La Palma'The East Prepark of the Doñana National Park, the Doñana Natural Park, the Natuara 2000 Network, the Ramsar zone and the Doñana Biosphere Reserve coincide.
The 'Veta La Palma' contributes to cushioning the effect on fauna in years of low rainfall and is key for the Doñana Natural Space and its biodiversity, as well as for the interactions between the marsh and the river and for any initiative that contributes to improve the health of the Guadalquivir and the estuary.
The more than 3.500 hectares artificially flooded are essential for birds during the months of low rainfall, compensating for the years of low rainfall on which the Doñana marshes depend. Maintaining the current biodiversity of Doñana and reinforcing its resilience and capacity to adapt to the changes that are coming are the great ones for the near future.
objectives to be achieved with public management of 'Veta La Palma'.
Announcement by President Juanma Moreno
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSa-chYKAtA»]El presidente ha explicado así la compra de la finca La Veta la Palma por parte de la Junta de Andalucía: «El verdadero peligro que enfrenta Doñana es el cambio climático. Esta amenaza ha reducido las precipitaciones anuales en un 50%, provocando que las lagunas se sequen. Como resultado, las aves están buscando refugio en Veta la Palma, una zona que siempre está inundada y que representa uno de los espacios de mayor valor ecológico de Doñana. De hecho, se puede considerar a Veta la Palma como uno de los pulmones de este espacio natural.
In this context, I have an important announcement: the Andalusian Government has decided to undertake the most significant environmental project in Doñana since the expansion of the National Park in 1978. This project aims to make Doñana more resistant to climate change and water scarcity. . To this end, the government of Andalusia plans to acquire the 7.500 hectares of Veta la Palma, which will become public property. The main purpose is to keep flooded, with a purely environmental focus, the 3.500 hectares that are at risk of losing water due to the closure of fish farms at the end of 2021. »
The general secretary of the PP of Andalusia, Antonio Repullo, evaluates the purchase of the 'Veta La Palma' Estate
Antonio Repullo, has stated that the purchase of 7.500 hectares of the 'Veta La Palma' farm to expand the surface area of the Doñana National Park by 14%, "gives the support that Doñana needs." "That is the policy that is carried out by the Junta de Andalucía, not only in Doñana but in any territory of Andalusia, prioritizing the environment", since "it is the great future that we can give to the generations that come," the Secretary General declared to journalists. In the statements he was accompanied by the mayor of Cádiz Bruno Garcia.[vc_single_image image=»20712″ img_size=»full»]
Next, the Secretary General of the Andalusian PP said that "what this purchasing process is about is protecting the situation of Doñana, with wetlands that make it possible for the development of Doñana, even in the circumstances in which we find ourselves, with that drought, in that climate change, which is hitting all of Andalusia and which is also especially hitting Doñana.
President Juanma Moreno has also announced that the objective is to make "the Doñana Natural Area more resilient to the effects of climate change." The objective of the Andalusian Government with this initiative is to keep the more than 3.500 hectares flooded that "run the risk of ceasing to have water due to the closure of the fish farms in the area, thereby avoiding the loss of the biodiversity of this space and the repercussions negative effects on habitats and animal species.
The purchase of 7.500 hectares to expand Doñana in the press
The purchase of 7.500 hectares by the Government of Andalusia to expand Doñana has had numerous repercussions in the media and has also generated a unanimous opinion, even in the other political parties and even in the Central Government, that it is a positive measure. .
12th September 2023 The Government of Andalusia expands Doñana with the purchase of 7.500 hectares: Invests 70 million euros in a farm in La Puebla del Río with high environmental value Source: andaluciainformacion.es
12th September 2023 The Government of Andalusia buys 7.500 hectares next to Doñana to expand the National Park: The Andalusian Government announces the acquisition of the land of the Veta la Palma fish farm for 70 million to keep the 3.500 hectares that host thousands of birds flooded in times of drought. The surface of the Doñana National Park will grow by 14% with the objective to make the natural space of Doñana more resilient in the face of the effects of climate change The permanent lagoon of Doñana dries up for the second consecutive year, something that had "never" been recorded NASA denounces that Doñana dries up due to tourism, the cultivation of strawberries and drought Source: diariodesevilla.es
12th September 2023 The Andalusian Government buys 7.500 hectares so that the birds remain in Doñana: The acquisition does not solve the problem of illegal wells, which will aggravate the law planned by the regional government Source: elpais.com
12th September 2023 Juanma Moreno announces that the Andalusian Government will buy 7.500 hectares of land to expand protection over Doñana: The president of the Junta de Andalucía, the popular Juanma Moreno, announced this Tuesday that the Andalusian Administration will buy 7.500 hectares of the 'Veta La… estate. Source: elmundo.es
12th September 2023 The Andalusian Government wants to protect Doñana: it will buy 7.500 hectares to expand its surface: The estimated valuation of the land is around 70 million euros. Moreno assures that it is "the most important environmental milestone in 45 years." Fountain: elespanol.com
