Doñana National Park

Park area of wetlands and sand dunes on the Guadalquivir delta, southern Spain. It is one of the most important wildlife sanctuaries in Western Europe. More than 250 bird species, over half Europe's total, are found here, including the griffin vulture, marbled teal, and the extremely rare Andulusian hemiphode.It is also home to the rare Iberian lynx. The park covers 77,260 ha and is a World Heritage Site.

In the 1990s the park was threatened by falling water levels caused by 30 dams along the Guadalquivir River. The danger continued throughout the 1990s, and in 1998 the park was further threatened by a flood of toxic waste from a breached dam holding back a reservoir used for dumping mining waste. The waste was successfully diverted into River Guadalquivir in May 1998, though wetlands surrounding the park were contaminated by heavy metals. The aquifer that supplies the park was also contaminated and thousands of dead fish and amphibians had to be cleared away to prevent carrion-eating birds being poisoned. In July 1998, 30,000 tonnes of dead fish had been removed as a result of the contamination by toxic sludge that occurred in May. A report by Spain's Scientific Research Council released in January 1999 revealed that an estimated 60,000 of the birds overwintering in Doñana will suffer health and fertility damage due to metal poisoning as a result of the leak in 1998.