The Ramsar Convention Concerning Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat, was agreed in 1971 in the city of Ramsar (Iran). The signatory countries, including Spain, are obliged to identify and protect the wetlands according to several criteria, especially its importance for waterfowl, in addition to ensuring the protection and sustainable use of all wetlands in its territory.
Among the Spanish wetlands protected by the Ramsar Convention Some of them are home to the largest populations of waterfowl in Europe, becoming places of great importance for their survival. In turn, these ecosystems They are key to the future of our lives.
Activities such as fishing in coastal environments, rice cultivation, tourism or the supply of water (whether surface or underground) are directly related to the conservation status of these ecosystems protected by the Ramsar Conventionwhich in turn house a wealth of biodiversity indisputable beyond the ornithological community.
A value that disappears
Wetlands alone account for 45% of the value of all natural ecosystems on the planet, yet 64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900, and their decline continues to accelerate. According to the Wetland Extension Index of the Convention on Biological Diversity, about 45% of these ecosystems have been degraded in the last 40 years worldwide. And the acceleration rate increases by more than 1.5% every year. Europe is the continent that has suffered the most wetland loss in the last 40 years.
In Spain, the most recent figures available confirmed that more than 60% of the original surface of wetlands has disappeared. Some large aquatic ecosystems have lost a large part of their natural wetlands (e.g. at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, 170,000 hectares of natural wetlands have disappeared or been converted to crops). And other relevant wetlands completely disappeared forever (for example in the Laguna de La Janda or the Laguna de Antela).
On a European scale, aquatic ecosystems are the habitats that have lost the most surface area and those that have the worst state of conservation, even though they are within the protection of the Ramsar Convention. The European Commission itself, after analyzing the threats to habitats and species of Community interest, concluded that these habitats are particularly affected by agriculture and hydrological changes.
Wetlands under the Ramsar Convention and in danger in Spain
In Spain there are many wetlands that are under the aegis of the Ramsar Convention and that are threatened by human activities. These three are the most affected
Doñana
This wetland, the largest in Spain and the largest in Europe, is included in the Ramsar Convention, but it is seriously affected by illegal crops, which steal water from its sources. Added to this are urbanization and anthropogenic infrastructure, disrespectful tourism (the place has already been burned on several occasions and garbage pollution is a problem) and the discharges it has received from various sources.
Daimiel Tables
This extensive wetland included in the Ramsar Convention could disappear in a few years due to the gradual degradation that it is suffering due to prolonged droughts and especially due to the extraction of water that is used to irrigate crops and that overexploit the aquifer of the Western Manchega Plain, which is the main source of food for the Park. Daimiel Tablas National.
Mar Menor
The situation of this wetland continues to decline. One of the main problems is the excess of nutrients from surrounding crops, which causes algae proliferation. These generate a phenomenon called eutrophication, that is, the surface becomes covered with algae and everything that remains below, deprived of the beneficial sunlight, dies and generates methane, which in turn pollutes the waters and is a greenhouse gas. .
Despite being within the Ramsar Convention To the aforementioned problems, we must add all the other anthropogenic activities (excessive urbanization, water sports, fishing, etc.) that are carried out in this internal sea and that do no good to the wetland, but rather aggravate its very delicate nature. situation.