Collective Action Portal for Water in Doñana-Huelva

What do we understand by water Stewardship?

This term is defined as “the use of water that is socially and culturally equitable, environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial, achieved through a stakeholder-inclusive process that includes both site- and catchment-based actions.”.

It is an approach that seeks to go beyond what we traditionally understand as sustainable water management, with a focus on the basin level and promoting dialogue and collaboration between different stakeholders to provide collective responses to shared water challenges.

What does this Story Map have to offer?

This story map is a place where information about the water and environmental situation of the Doñana Natural Park is collected and displayed. There is a large amount of data, reports, plans and initiatives about the area, but they are scattered in different websites or publications. The aim of this tool is to gather and consolidate this information and present it in an accessible and visual way.

To view the story map, simply scroll down and the content will appear as the user scrolls. The user will also be able to interact with the maps that appear, zooming or clicking on the different elements displayed to consult their information or zoom in on elements of interest when a "+" appears in the text.

The repository can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking on the ··· icon at the top right and selecting "Print Preview -> Print -> Save as PDF". All references are listed at the bottom of the page, with links to the various sources of information used.

Sources:  Geoportal CHG  ^II   and  Andalucía environmental information network (REDIAM)  ^III   

This project aims to prioritise actions related to water. It is therefore essential to understand the geographical distribution of production areas (particularly for berries) and the origin of irrigation water in the different agricultural areas of relevance.

Sources:  SIGPAC 2017-2022 ,  Geoportal CHG  y  Red de Información Ambiental de Andalucía (REDIAM)  

The climatology of the area is characterised by a sub-humid climate, with rainy autumns and springs, hot, dry summers and mild winters. The average annual rainfall is 549 mm, although in the last decade it has been below 500 mm on several occasions, and it is characterised by a typical Mediterranean climate variability, with wet and dry years. Most of the last 20 years have been considered dry (with rainfall equal to or less than the historical average).

In terms of temperature, the area's climate is characterised by mild winters and hot summers, when temperatures can exceed 40º. However, the average annual temperature is on the rise. The increase is particularly marked in the cooler years.

 ^{Source:“ Evaluación del Impacto del Cambio Climático en los Recursos Hídricos y Sequías en España  XI}  ”

Other indicators of climate change, such as heat stress, which has a significant influence on agricultural production, are projected to be on an upward trend.  ^XII  . Source: European Climate Change Service,  Agroclimatic indicators explorer for Europe from 1970 to 2100 .

Particularly important is the prolonged drought that has been occurring in the area in the last 5 years.

In addition, sea-level rise could increase the salinity of the estuary, especially if combined with a reduction in inflows. This could have a direct impact on the ecology of the estuary and also on the marshes, especially in the Doñana National Park, where there could be significant impacts and changes in the distribution of ecosystems.

In order to monitor the evolution of resource availability in more detail, drought and scarcity reports are published monthly by the Water authorities of the  Guadalquivir ^XV  ,  TOP  ^XVI  and  Guadiana  ^XVII , in addition to being able to consult the Automatic Hydrological Information System (SAIH) of the Guadalquivir, the  weekly hydrological bulletin of MITECO  and the reservoir levels in the  reservoirs viewer of the REDIAM  system of Junta de Andalucía. It is also possible to consult piezometric levels in the viewer of the  Monitoring network of the ministry of environment  and the online viewer of the  Guadalquivir monitoring network .

The following map shows the quantitative status of the groundwater bodies and the various piezometric control points from which data on the evolution of their levels can be accessed.

 ^{Sources:  Plan Hidrológico de la demarcación hidrográfica del Guadalquivir (2022-2027) ,    Plan Hidrológico de la demarcación hidrográfica del Tinto, Odiel y Piedras (2022 - 2027) ,  informes del estado de los acuíferos del entorno de Doñana 2021 - 2022 y 2022 - 2023}  

According to the  Hydrological planning instruction (IPH)  , The environmental flow regime shall be established in such a way as to maintain the functionality and structure of aquatic ecosystems and associated terrestrial ecosystems in a sustainable manner, contributing to the achievement of good ecological status or potential in rivers or transitional waters. To this end a minimum flow regime shall be established in the hydrological plans for each surface water body of the river type.

In the Doñana area, one of the most important watercourses, La Rocina stream, has a minimum flow regime that, according to existing records in the Automated Hydrological Information ( SAIH ) of Guadalquivir  ^XX  , is not met in the majority of the months since records began in 2018. In the case of the Guadiamar, the data show a very similar behaviour.

Since the middle of the last century, the environment of Doñana has undergone several anthropogenic changes, both in terms of forestry, agriculture and urban development. These factors, together with others of a natural nature or related to climate change, have had a series of effects on the ecosystems of the natural area.

The Doñana lagoons have suffered serious deterioration in recent years, affecting the biodiversity they support. According to the latest report on the water situation of the Doñana Biological Station, dated 14 November 2023, the lagoons of Doñana are suffering a serious deterioration that is affecting the biodiversity they support.   ^XXV  , the flooded area of the marshes is 537.8 hectares, or 1.87% of the total area of the marshes. The Santa Olalla lagoon, the largest permanent lagoon in the Doñana Nature Reserve, dried up in the summers of 2022 and 2023, something that has not happened since records began.

The complete drying up of the permanent lagoons prevents the presence of fish and causes the death of eels, one of the species currently under threat. The freshwater turtle population is also declining.   ^XXVI  . For waterbirds, the 2004-2022 time series of data on the evolution of waterbird breeding populations and trends shows that most species are in a serious situation, with the majority of species in a serious situation.

More common species are also experiencing reduced productivity due to a reduction in the length of time the marsh is waterlogged. The lack of water means less food and many inaccessible places where birds lay their eggs, such as seams, colonies on floating nests or nest boxes on marsh vegetation, are accessible to predators, especially wild boar, which have experienced a population explosion in recent years.   ^XXVII  .

En la siguiente infografía puede ver algunas de las conclusiones del Informe  "Estado de la biodiversidad en Doñana. Memoria 2024 " elaborado por  ICTS de la Reserva Biológica de Doñana .

This section provides an overview of the main management instruments for ecosystems, water resources, agriculture and land use. It aims to provide a better understanding of the governance systems in place and the key aspects of legal compliance.

With regard to water, two hydrological plans with their respective competent authorities must be taken into account, since the area of influence of the Doñana Natural Park lies between two river basin districts. These are the  Plan Hidrológico del Guadalquivir  and  Plan Hidrológico del Tinto, Odiel y Piedras , both in place for the third planning cycle 2022-2027. The competent authorities are the Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir and the Dirección General de Recursos Hídricos de la Consejería de Agricultura, Pesca, Agua y Desarrollo Rural de la Junta de Andalucía. These are the entities responsible for granting and managing water concessions for various uses. In cases such as the Guadalquivir demarcation, there is a public registerand a  viewer to consult water abstraction points and authorized irrigated areas .

The Guadalquivir Hydrological Plan includes a series of actions to ensure that the groundwater bodies of the Doñana reach the objective of good status by 2027. These are analysed in the specific file on the Doñana ( Ficha 10 ) within the Scheme of Important Issues of the Hydrological Plan.

 ^{Source:  Red de Información Ambiental de Andalucía (REDIAM)}   

 ^{Sources:  Portal REDIAM}  

The main objectives from which to identify ideas for collective action to be included in the Water Stewardship Plan by the end of 2025, together with some preliminary ideas to take shape, are as follows:

• Promote spaces for dialogue (workshops, round tables...) to share experiences and build capacity in water stewardship and sustainable water use.
• Establish a local platform to coordinate, stimulate, support and organise collective actions.
• Integrate and share materials or publications.
• Develop communication and awareness-raising materials.

• Sharing common approaches and tools for legality verification.
• Build capacity for certification schemes and training of auditors.
• Develop and share benchmark analyses of standards to identify improvements and strengthen certification systems.

• Promote good agricultural practices, such as efficient irrigation systems or measurement and control of water and nitrate use.
• Promote financial support mechanisms among value chain actors to scale up the implementation of good practices.

• Promotion of monitoring systems for water quantity and quality in aquifers or surface waters.
• Encourage activities to restore degraded ecosystems or to preserve ecological corridors and biodiversity.

The different sources of information used or consulted for the development of this repository are listed below:

1.  ^I  Alliance for Water Stewardship  https://a4ws.org/about/ 
2.  ^II    Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir:    Infraestructura de Datos Espaciales (IDE)   
3.  ^III    Junta de Andalucía:    Red de Información Ambiental de Andalucía    - REDIAM
4.  ^IV   Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (MITECO):   Marco de Actuaciones para Doñana  
5.  ^V   Junta de Andalucía:   SIGPAC Andalucía  
6.  ^VI   Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación:   Informe anual de indicadores  
7.  ^VII   Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación:   Encuesta sobre Superficies y Rendimientos Cultivos (ESYRCE)  
8.  ^VIII   Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación:   Estación Biológica de Doñana  
9.  ^IX   Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir:   Informe del estado de los acuíferos del entorno de Doñana  
10.  ^X     Red de Información Agroclimática de Andalucía (RIA)  
11.  ^XI   Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir:   Plan Hidrológico de la demarcación hidrográfica del Guadalquivir (2022-2027)  
12.  ^XII   Oficina Española del Cambio Climático:   Evaluación del impacto del cambio climático en los recursos hídricos y sequías en España  
13.  ^XIII   European Climate Change Service:   Agroclimatic indicators explorer for Europe from 1970 to 2100  
14.  ^XIV   MITECO:   Informes de la situación de sequía y escasez  
15.  ^XV   Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir:   informes mensuales de sequías  
16.  ^XVI   Junta de Andalucía:   Informes de escasez y sequía  
17.  ^XVII   Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadiana:   Informes de sequía y escasez  
18.  ^XVIII   MITECO:   Cartografía de Zonas Vulnerables a contaminación por nitratos  
19.  ^XIX   Junta de Andalucía:   Plan Hidrológico de la demarcación del Tinto, Odiel y Piedras (TOP) 2022 - 2027  
20.  ^XX   Sistema Automático de Información Hidrológica del Guadalquivir:   Datos Históricos  
21.  ^XXI   Junta de Andalucía:   Plan de Ordenación de los Recursos Naturales y el Plan Rector de Uso y Gestión del Espacio Natural Doñana  
22.  ^XXII   Junta de Andalucía:   Plan Especial de ordenación de las zonas de regadío ubicadas al norte de la corona forestal de Doñana (2014)  
23.  ^XXIII   MITECO:   Marco de Actuaciones para el Desarrollo Territorial Sostenible del área de influencia del Espacio Natural Doñana  
24.  ^XXIV   Junta de Andalucía:   Marco de actuaciones para el desarrollo territorial del área de influencia del Espacio Natural de Doñana  
25.  ^XXV   Junta de Andalucía:   Informes de seguimiento del Plan de Ordenación de la Corona Forestal de Doñana  
26.  ^XXVI   SEO BirdLife:   Informe sobre el estado de conservación de las aguas acuáticas en Doñana 

Other information sources consulted:

•  Cartografía Digital de Seguimiento del Espacio Natural de Doñana   - EBD CSIC
•   Boletín Hidrológico semanal: Informes y visor - MITECO  
•   BBDD Planes Hidrológicos y programa de medidas - MITECO  
• V isor de embalses al día REDIAM  
•   Redes de Control CH Guadalquivir  
•   Instrucción de Planificación Hidrológica (IPH)  
• CH Guadalquivir:   visor de consulta de captaciones de agua y superficies de riego autorizadas  
•   WWF - Doñana  
•   Guía uso legal del agua en agricultura WWF  
•   Freshuelva  
•   Interfresa  
•   Junta de Andalucía - Portal ambiental de Andalucía - Visor MAPA Clima  
•  WWF Water Risk Filter  
•  WRI Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas 

This story map was made possible thanks to the support of WRAP and the technical development led by GSI with the assistance of Jesús Vargas, professor at the University of Málaga and member of the Citizen Drought Observatory.