Climate Change Threatens Protected Spanish Wetlands
2022-11-12
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1In southwestern Spain, close to the Atlantic Ocean, the Doñana National Park is known as the nation's "crown jewel."
2It is a protected wetlands area home to many animals, including birds such as flamingos and herons.
3Now, after a summer of record-high temperatures and little rain, the wetlands are dry, brown and smelly.
4Most fish and birds are gone, as well.
5Bodies of water called lagoons are at the heart of the park.
6Most dry up and refill throughout the year.
7Santa Olalla is the park's biggest lagoon. It traditionally has water year round.
8In the summer, it provides water to needy plants and animals.
9But this year, Santa Olalla dried up.
10Carmen Diaz is a biologist who studies the park.
11She showed a reporter from the Associated Press around and stepped into a muddy area with a little bit of water.
12"Seeing this last bit of water makes me think that the entire park is dry," she said.
13The park has been home to hundreds of thousands of birds that visit for the winter.
14Many others use it as a stopping place during migration from Africa to northern Europe.
15Five kinds of threatened birds, including the Spanish imperial eagle, live in Doñana.
16There is also a breeding and rescue center there for the endangered Iberian lynx, an endangered kind of wild cat.
17Diaz is a government researcher with the Spanish National Research Council.
18She said the time to save the park was 20 years ago, but, in her words "nothing was done."
19"The environment always loses against the economy," she said.
20The park is where the Guadalqivir River meets the ocean.
21The area was once along an important shipping route for Spanish explorers who sent silver back from the colonies in central and South America.
22Because of the plant and animal life, scientists and conservationists have studied the area for many years.
23Carlos Davila is among them.
24His research centers on the imperial eagle.
25He said 2022 was a "disastrous year" for the birds.
26Only two babies were born from a group of eight mating pairs.
27When rain comes, the area comes back to life.
28However, city development along the Atlantic coast and farms in other areas are putting pressure on the wetlands.
29Conservationists protest about the nearby city of Matalascañas, for example.
30Once a quiet fishing village, the town now is a popular center for beach vacations.
31But scientists and environmentalists say that the town requires too much water from Doñana.
32And, the European Court of Justice ruled that the city is making some of the park's lagoons go dry.
33Farther away, in the area called Huelva, traditional Spanish olive crops have been replaced by berry farms.
34The berries bring in more money than olives, but they require more water to grow.
35The World Wildlife Fund says there are thousands of wells in the area taking ground water without permission.
36This means the water never makes it into the wetlands.
37Felipe Fuentelsaz is an agriculture expert with the World Wildlife Fund in Spain.
38He says Doñana National Park has a big problem from the severely dry weather.
39But he said the park is also suffering from poor supervision.
40That permitted the building of illegal wells and other activity to redirect water resources.
41While the government is working to close some of the wells, farmers are pushing back.
42They say they have always had the right to use water in the area and they are only taking what is theirs.
43Spain's government is considering projects that would send some water from rivers in other parts of the country to help bring life back to Doñana.
44I'm Dan Friedell.
1In southwestern Spain, close to the Atlantic Ocean, the Doñana National Park is known as the nation's "crown jewel." 2It is a protected wetlands area home to many animals, including birds such as flamingos and herons. 3Now, after a summer of record-high temperatures and little rain, the wetlands are dry, brown and smelly. 4Most fish and birds are gone, as well. 5Bodies of water called lagoons are at the heart of the park. Most dry up and refill throughout the year. Santa Olalla is the park's biggest lagoon. It traditionally has water year round. In the summer, it provides water to needy plants and animals. 6But this year, Santa Olalla dried up. 7Carmen Diaz is a biologist who studies the park. She showed a reporter from the Associated Press around and stepped into a muddy area with a little bit of water. 8"Seeing this last bit of water makes me think that the entire park is dry," she said. 9The park has been home to hundreds of thousands of birds that visit for the winter. Many others use it as a stopping place during migration from Africa to northern Europe. Five kinds of threatened birds, including the Spanish imperial eagle, live in Doñana. There is also a breeding and rescue center there for the endangered Iberian lynx, an endangered kind of wild cat. 10Diaz is a government researcher with the Spanish National Research Council. She said the time to save the park was 20 years ago, but, in her words "nothing was done." 11"The environment always loses against the economy," she said. 12The park is where the Guadalqivir River meets the ocean. The area was once along an important shipping route for Spanish explorers who sent silver back from the colonies in central and South America. Because of the plant and animal life, scientists and conservationists have studied the area for many years. 13Carlos Davila is among them. His research centers on the imperial eagle. He said 2022 was a "disastrous year" for the birds. Only two babies were born from a group of eight mating pairs. 14When rain comes, the area comes back to life. However, city development along the Atlantic coast and farms in other areas are putting pressure on the wetlands. Conservationists protest about the nearby city of Matalascañas, for example. Once a quiet fishing village, the town now is a popular center for beach vacations. 15But scientists and environmentalists say that the town requires too much water from Doñana. And, the European Court of Justice ruled that the city is making some of the park's lagoons go dry. 16Farther away, in the area called Huelva, traditional Spanish olive crops have been replaced by berry farms. The berries bring in more money than olives, but they require more water to grow. The World Wildlife Fund says there are thousands of wells in the area taking ground water without permission. This means the water never makes it into the wetlands. 17Felipe Fuentelsaz is an agriculture expert with the World Wildlife Fund in Spain. He says Doñana National Park has a big problem from the severely dry weather. But he said the park is also suffering from poor supervision. That permitted the building of illegal wells and other activity to redirect water resources. 18While the government is working to close some of the wells, farmers are pushing back. They say they have always had the right to use water in the area and they are only taking what is theirs. 19Spain's government is considering projects that would send some water from rivers in other parts of the country to help bring life back to Doñana. 20I'm Dan Friedell. 21Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 22__________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24breed -v. to produce young animals 25__________________________________________________________________ 26We want to hear from you. Do you think wetlands can be saved? 27We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.