Decision 45 COM 7B.97

Doñana National Park (Spain) (N 685bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decisions 37 COM 7B.27, 38 COM 7B.79, 39 COM 7B.26, 41 COM 7B.9, 43 COM 7B.20 and 44 COM 7B.191 adopted at its 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013), 38th (Doha, 2014), 39th (Bonn, 2015), 41st (Krakow, 2017), 43rd (Baku, 2019) and extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) sessions respectively,
3. Welcomes the efforts of the State Party to finalise, with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, the Retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, as well as to start identifying monitoring indicators, and reiterates its request to report on the indicators in future state of conservation reports;
4. Appreciates the State Party’s continued efforts to reduce groundwater usage from the Doñana aquifer (Almonte-Marismas detritic aquifer), including through the implementation of various recommendations of the 2020 Reactive Monitoring mission, but reiterates its utmost concern about the overexploitation of three of the water bodies despite such efforts, and therefore requests the State Party to fully implement all recommendations of the 2020 mission as a matter of urgency;
5. Also requests the State Party to confirm whether the Hydrological Plan for the Guadalquivir basin (2021-2027) has been approved, including details of the process of its development, recalling the Committee’s previous request to present an updated Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Guadalquivir River Basin to ensure that it includes a specific chapter on the OUV of the property;
6. Also recalling the need to clarify the relationship between the hydrology and ecology of the area and defining the water requirements of the property to maintain its OUV, urges the State Party to expedite the development of an eco-hydrological model for the property, in line with the 2020 mission recommendations, in order to inform adaptive management of the property and actions to increase its resilience under climate change;
7. Further requests the State Party to develop a strategic plan that defines likely climate change-related impacts to the property, as well as adaptation and mitigation measures to address these impacts, including the extent to which a reduction in water consumption is required to conserve and protect the OUV of the property, in line with the 2020 mission recommendations;
8. Noting that fluctuations in ecosystem productivity are expected given the seasonal and annual variations in rainfall patterns, nevertheless, expresses its utmost concern about the decline in the number of waterbirds wintering in the property, which are important attributes of the property’s OUV, and the fact that some key species are currently not breeding or being observed in the property due to prolonged drought and lack of surface water;
9. Expresses its utmost concern at the legislative changes proposed by the Parliament of Andalusia to legalise existing illegal wells and urges the State Party to fully implement the Special Management Plan of the Irrigation Zones located to the North of the Forest Crown of Doñana (PEOCFD) in its current form and to urgently close illegal wells, in accordance with its previous commitments;
10. Considers that a continued decline of the Doñana aquifer (Almonte-Marismas detritic aquifer), if not reversed through rapid and effective implementation of actions, including the recommendations of the 2020 Reactive Monitoring mission, to strengthen the resilience of the property and reduce the pressures on the OUV from the threat of climate change, could lead to adverse impact on the OUV of the property and create the conditions for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in accordance with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines;
11. Recalling the need for great caution concerning the reopening of the former Aznalcóllar mine, further urges the State Party to ensure that systematic risk preparedness and emergency action plans take into account the protection and management needs of the property, and to submit these documents in one of the working languages of the Committee (English or French) to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN, as soon as they become available and before final or irreversible decisions are taken regarding the reopening of the mine;
12. Notes with appreciation the plan to establish a buffer zone for the property, and requests the State Party to submit a proposal for a minor boundary modification to formalise a buffer zone for the property;
13. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session.