Stephen P. Broker
Donana National Park is located in the Andalucian province of southern Spain. It is a UNESCO-MAB (Man and the Biosphere) Biosphere Reserve, and it is also recognized as a Ramsar site (a wetland of international importance) and a Natural World Heritage Site. I visited Donana in July 1998, when I participated in an ecotourism view of the park. July is in the middle of the dry period in this seasonal wetland, when 1-2 meter deep wetland marshes have given way to dry, cracked mudflats, and abundant migratory bird species have already departed for other breeding grounds. While in Donana, I learned of current land and wildlife management issues, observed and photographed representative habitats, plants and animals. La Donana is adjacent to the coastal port of Huelva and lies not far from the major seaport of Cadiz. It is from these parts of southern Spain that Columbus began his four voyages to the New World. Because of the historical and ecological importance of Donana, as well as the recent environmental disaster which occurred there, it lends itself well to the topics with which we have been concerned in the Institute seminar.
Following our introduction to the Andalusian region of southern Spain, its geography, history, and culture, we turn our attention to the ecology of Coto Donana (or Donana game preserve), which consists of Donana National Park, the adjacent Donana Natural Park (which is regional), and surrounding lands developed primarily for agriculture. The entry point for this part of the unit is another New York Times article, from the Sunday, June 15, 1997 travel section. It is entitled, "Amid the wild grandeur of a Spanish sanctuary", and it is written by Christopher Clarey. The article identifies Donana as "one of the world's great wildfowl sanctuaries." Students reading the article (aloud in class) should recognize the following points:
-
1. The Coto Donana wetlands are reduced in size from their original expanse due to human activities, including the encroachment of human settlements and agriculture.
-
2. Donana is a 200 square mile park located between the coastal ports of Huelva and Cadiz in southern Spain.
-
3. Donana is home to a wide variety of mammals, including otters, weasels, badgers, red deer, wild boars, wild horses, and the endangered Iberian lynx.
-
4. The avifauna of Donana is similarly diverse, consisting of 250 resident and migratory bird species. They include herons, egrets, and ibises, flamingos, storks, kites, harriers, stilts, and avocets. Three rare or endangered species are the Marbled Teal, Crested Coot, and Spanish Imperial Eagle.
-
5. Donana National Park receives full protection, and the adjacent Donana Natural Park serves as an important buffer zone around the former.
-
6. Details are given for commercial all terrain vehicle tours through Donana National Park, leaving from the park visitor center at El Acebuche, for boat tours on the Rio Guadalquivir, and for guided horseback tours. Lodging, dining, and other information is given for the interested traveler.
Having read a current event newspaper article introducing the reader to this coastal wetland environment, comparable in global significance to the Florida Everglades, students begin a study of the ecology of Donana. There are three major text references available to them: (1) Ministerio de Agricultura Pesca y Alimentacion. 1990. Donana National Park: nature in Spain. Barcelona: Lunwerg Editores, S.A., 249pp.; (2) Larramendi, Alberto. 1994. Donana: patrimonio de la humanidad. Madrid: Repsol, S.A./Incafo, 189pp.; (3) Novo, F. Garcia. C1999. The ecosystems of Donana National Park, from Internet Website http://www.enveng.ufl.edu/wetlands/donana.html. The first two references were obtained by me during my July 1998 visit to Donana National Park (available through the park bookstore, or via Internet booksellers). The third reference comes up from an Internet search engine using the key words "Donana National Park." Reference #1 is a coffee table-sized publication with excellent photographs of Donana beach, marsh, fixed and mobile dunes, woodland scenes, trees and flowering plants, birds, mammals, and cultural sites. A number of photographs have greater artistic merit than scientific value. Of significance are the articles, published in English and Spanish, which comprise the text of the book. They cover such topics as the origins of the Donana ecosystems, the natural environment of the Park, the history and culture of Donana, establishment of Donana as a national park, and current scientific research within the park. These book chapters are written by some of the foremost ecologists and social scientists of this region. Reference #2 is written entirely in Spanish. Book chapters treat the history of this region as a game preserve for Spanish kings and dukes, historical and cultural features of Donana, the geological and ecological origins of the present Donana ecosystems, descripions of the marshlands, forests, and dunes, and the establishment of Donana as a national park. There is an excellent map of Donana National Park, easier to read than the various other maps I have obtained. Numerous high quality photographs of Donana ecosystems and organisms (amphibians, grebes, herons, flamingos, waterfowl, gulls and terns, Spanish Imperial Eagle, red deer, wild boar, Iberian lynx) are far more informative than the photos in reference #1. The Internet website information on Donana, written by F. Garcia Novo of the Department of Ecology, University of Sevilla, has comprehensive sections on geology, climate, land units and ecosystems (beach, stationary dunes, mobile dunes, forests, Mediterranean scrublands, grasslands, marsh, ponds), representative plants and animals, and conservation. Taken together, these three references provide an excellent overview of Donana in an historical, cultural, ecological, and environmental context.