Bad news from Doñana. Its largest permanent lagoon, that of Santa Olalla, has completely dried up again for the second consecutive year, something that had not happened since records have been kept, according to the Superior Council of Scientific Research (CSIC). The severe drought that the area is suffering from, together with the overexploitation of the aquifer, are the two main causes that have caused this enclave to also run out of water. This "serious situation" has a negative impact on the biodiversity that this national park hosts.
The scientific and technical team of the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC) of the CSIC "verified its complete desiccation", and has highlighted the "deterioration of the lagoon system", many of which have disappeared last years
It does not rain, and when it does it is insufficient for the recovery of the Doñana lagoon system, where the period of flooding lasts less and less and, even, many no longer flood. The 2021-2022 hydrological cycle was the year with the lowest precipitation levels in the last ten years (283 mm), and 2023 is not much better. On the other hand, the high temperatures that are being recorded complicate the situation even more. Over the past two years the mercury has reached very high highs and the highest average annual temperature on record, 18.53oC, which has contributed to the desiccation.
According to a study by the Doñana Biological Station, 59% of the largest lagoons have already disappeared due to these causes, but from the entity they also indicate a third no less important factor: the overexploitation of aquifer
According to the CSIC, 80% of the lagoon system dried up earlier than expected from the recorded temperature and precipitation levels, and 84% of the lagoons flooded less than expected. Behind this phenomenon is the hand of man, whose activity is altering the natural balance of the area.
Intensive agriculture and illegal withdrawals of water from the aquifer are seriously endangering their survival. It is not a new topic. In fact, the irrigation plan is part of the regional political agenda and has been the subject of more than one ear pull in Europe. "If we continue with policies like the ones the PP intends to carry out in Doñana, such as the regulation of illegal farms (of up to 2,000 irrigated hectares), it is unfeasible "for the aquifer levels to recover" , pointed out the coordinator of the WWF office in Doñana, Juanjo Carmona, who adds that the current situation "demonstrates the poor management that has been carried out in recent years in relation to the aquifer and the over-extraction to which they have been subjected underground water”.
For his part, the director of the Doñana Biological Station, Eloy Revilla, asks to remove this space "from the political game" and indicates the need for all the administrations to sit down "to work together to design and execute" the plan of the forest crown of Doñana, approved in 2014. "They must agree and coordinate their actions," he says. Likewise, it emphasizes the need to adopt measures that help to reverse the current regression, such as the "urgent reduction" of the volume of water that is extracted from the aquifer to levels that "allow the recovery of the system of gaps and stop the degradation of the natural space". Likewise, it requests the update of the system for assessing the state of the aquifer, the reestablishment of the governance of water management and the planning of the territory to place it within the legislation and the establishment of the Doñana 2030 Labor Commission.
