History Doñana National Park

1 history

1.1 antiquity
1.2 middle ages
1.3 modern
1.4 late modern, creation of national park
1.5 conservation

history
antiquity

banks of river guadalquivir in doñana national park

although topography of doñana relatively new land feature measured on geological time scale, remains of neolithic tools have been found in area. various ancient civilizations had presence there long 2,800 years ago, including phoenicians, phocaean greeks , tartessians. in 1923, german archaeologist adolf schulten, accompanied adolf lammerer , george bonsor, searched location of ancient tartessian capital in doñana dunes, found nothing of interest. these excavations carried out @ cerro del trigo , funded duke of tarifa , denia, owner of doñana. nevertheless, in 1978 schulten found stele of villamanrique @ nearby town of villamanrique de la condesa. surveys made in 2007 in hinojos salt marsh, or marisma de hinojos , of huelva province, in effort discover traces of mythical city. noteworthy finds included remains of roman settlements, dating 2nd through 5th centuries ad, had been engaged in fishing , fish salting or preparation of garum. guadalquivir marshes (las marismas del guadalquivir), area of marshy lowlands near left bank of mouth of guadalquivir, large inland lake known lacus ligustinus in latin. lake infilled deposited sediment, gradually giving way current marshes.

middle ages

alfonso x wise

in 1262, after conquering vassal kingdom of niebla, king alfonso x established real cazadero (royal hunting preserve) in las rocinas forest, between rio tinto , guadalquivir, partly due abundance of deer there, small sanctuary of santa olalla, since disappeared, on arroyo de la rocina.

in 1297, son sancho iv granted guzmán el bueno lordship of sanlúcar, consisting of territory located behind arenas gordas on left bank of guadalquivir estuary, , remained in hands of house of medina-sidonia on 6 centuries. noble house established in 1369, when henry ii of castile granted fourth lord of sanlúcar county of niebla. in 1493 catholic monarchs donated part of land of present village of el rocío royal secretary, son later sold town of almonte. previously, new breeding stock had been introduced among local populations of wild boar , deer, while wolf hunting encouraged benefit of cattle , horse ranching.

in region of niebla, @ las rocinas, land flat, covered thickets, , wild boars found there... ...one may not traverse ground in winter, wet, except during drought, nor in summer because dry , miserably uncomfortable. ~alfonso xi in libro de la montería (the book of hunting), written between 1342 , 1348

early modern

nearly century later, alonso pérez de guzmán, 7th duke of medina sidonia , commander of spanish armada, bought part of land. wife, ana de silva y mendoza, daughter of princess of eboli, moved country retreat there called coto de doña ana (doña ana game preserve), origin of current name doñana ; house renovated years later palace. reference use of coto donana hunting lodge made in first verses of la fábula de polifemo y galatea (fable of polyphemus , galatea), lyric poet luis de góngora dedicated count of niebla, , in requests nobles suspend hunting exploits hear verses. in 1624, king philip iv stayed @ estate several days guest of 9th duke of medina sidonia, , joined in large hunts. brought him great variety of comestibles, included such luxuries snow mountains frequent banquets held in honor of duke. in 1797 francisco goya stayed in palace guest of patrons, 15th duke of medina-sidonia , wife, 13th duchess of alba. here goya created Álbum a, collection of drawings, , apparently painted famous portraits, la maja vestida ( clothed maja ) , la maja desnuda ( naked maja ), rumored portray duchess.

late modern, creation of national park

after 1854, publishing of discussion of area in treatise called avifauna de doñana: catálogo de las aves observadas en algunas provincias andaluzas ( avifauna of doñana: catalogue of birds observed in andalusian provinces ), antonio machado y nunez, public began appreciate ecological value many different species of wildlife found there. consequently, visited british naturalists , hunters including abel chapman , walter j. buck, both of whom wrote books alerted wider audience in europe strategic importance of doñana migratory birds traveling africa. later, when josé joaquín Álvarez de toledo y caro (1865-1915) became 19th duke of medina sidonia, inherited large debts , pay them forced sell off various assets, including coto de doñana, sold 750,000 pesetas, detaching noble house.

when sherry baron william garvey bought doñana duke in 1901, estate abandoned , in state of ruin. garvey restored palace former splendor, , upon death passed brother joseph , niece maria medina y garvey, married duke of tarifa, forest engineer. in 1934 passed sister of duchess of tarifa, blanca medina , garvey, married marquis of borghetto. in 1942, marquis sold company formed salvador noguera, manuel gonzalez , marquis of mérito. fifty years later park consolidated natural area.

conservation

view of doñana national park visitors centre @ el acebuche

the spanish businessman mauricio gonzález-gordon y díez, marquis of bonanza, family owned large estate in doñana, became interested in ecosystems , birdlife, , invited ornithologists on europe visit. in 1952, spanish ornithologists josé antonio valverde , francisco bernis visited property, gonzález-gordon serving guide. valverde , gonzález-gordon family saw wetlands, richly diverse wildlife, threatened spanish government s proposals drain them farming , planting of eucalyptus trees. mauricio, father, asked bernis try , influence spanish dictator francisco franco abandoning plans. trio wrote memorandum presented franco himself mauricio s father manuel. november 1953 bernis had finished report on status of doñana showed area had exceptional ecological value. group sought , obtained international support goals. efforts of gonzález-gordon dissuade franco exposed him danger, franco government conceded , drainage plans aborted.

valverde led first organised scientific expedition donana in 1957, joined british naturalists guy mountfort, roger peterson, , sir julian huxley. group of european conservation experts – including guy monfort, max nicholson , luc hoffmann –then demonstrated crucial importance of area stopover birds migrating between european , african continents. in 1959, gonzalez family sold part of land in doñana development of matalascañas resort. alarmed european conservationists, leading various institutions , anonymous donors offer buy part of property. valverde, hoffman, , nicholson, in partnership british nature conservancy, formed association organised international drive funds expand park. campaign raised 2 million swiss francs buy 7,000 hectares of land annexation donated gonzález-gordon. finally, in 1963 spanish government , wwf bought part of territory , created first doñana preserve, , in 1964 established doñana biological station , spanish national research council (consejo superior de investigaciones científicas - csic) study biodiversity of doñana , other spanish ecosystems.

el porrón observatory

in 1969, wwf again joined forces spanish government purchase section of guadalquivir delta marshes , establish doñana national park. same year doñana national park created decree, part of territory owned ministry of economy , competitiveness (ministerio de economía y competitividad) , part still in private hands. ten years later protected area expanded , so-called preparque doñana created. in 1980, unesco recognised doñana national park biosphere reserve of 77,260 hectares. core zone consists of 50,720 hectares in national park of doñana. buffer zone 54,250 hectares in natural park of doñana. altitude ranges sea level 40 meters above sea level. unesco considers doñana of world significance, based on variety of ecosystems , wide number of species harbor. in 1982 included in list of wetlands of ramsar convention, , in 1989 regional government of andalusia converted preparque doñana natural park. in 1994 listed unesco world heritage site, enabling establishment of programs preserve , manage area. historically, these vital wetlands have been threatened schemes increase local agricultural output , tourism. wwf still supports doñana, , fighting proposals drain marshes , syphon off water irrigation of agricultural land along coast , expansion of tourist facilities.

in 1998, aznalcóllar disaster occurred when holding dam burst @ los frailes mine owned boliden-apirsa (formerly andaluza de piritas, s.a.), spanish subsidiary of boliden, releasing flood of toxic sludge entered river guadiamar, main water source park. in 2000, after major environmental catastrophe, spanish ministry of environment promoted doñana 2005 program, aimed @ regenerating marshes. in 2006 responsibilities of maintaining park transferred government of andalusia royal decree of 9 june; functions , services of nature conservation administration transferred andalusian state widened, , doñana national park , natural park became natural area of doñana , single territory divided areas different levels of environmental protection. in 2008 park twinned regional natural park camargue in france, shares anthropological , ethnographic aspects.

during tenure, spanish prime minister felipe gonzález began using doñana vacation retreat, setting precedent successors josé maría aznar , josé luis rodríguez zapater. in 2010, 9200 hectares of land on coastline expropriated former ministerio de medio ambiente (ministry of environment) protection. in july 2012, unesco approved extension of biosphere reserve of doñana 77,260 hectares on 255,000 hectares , enabled compliance guidelines of man , biosphere program. created transition zone socio-economic interests of various municipalities in doñana region represented.