Doñana is located in the southwest of Spain, divided between the provinces of Huelva, Seville and Cadiz. It holds a set of ecosystems including marshes, temporary lagoons, Mediterranean scrubland, mobile dunes or cork oak and pine forests that harbor a unique biodiversity within Europe.
Given its privileged geographical location, at a crossroads between Europe and Africa, Doñana is a place of passage, breeding and wintering for more than 300 species of birds, has 8 priority habitats according to the Habitats Directive, and is also a refuge for endangered species such as the Iberian lynx, the red kite or the imperial eagle, endemic plants. It also stands out for its high diversity of invertebrate species, with more than 200 species of bees, more than 1000 species of moths, and endangered species such as the wolf spider and dung beetles. All this makes it a place of high ecological value.
Different international protection status has been given to Doñana, promoted by a conservationist awareness that had a great impact in the 1950s and 60s. This led to the creation in 1963 of the Doñana Biological Reserve and the Doñana Biological Station by the CSIC. Subsequently, the National Park was created in 1969 and later the separate Natural Park in 1989. In total, the protected area covers a total of 128,000 hectares.
Doñana was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1980, a RAMSAR Site in 1982 and a World Heritage Site in 1994.
