The Junta de Andalucía asks the government to respond to the allegations and withdraw the demarcation approved for Doñana

The Andalusian administration emphasizes that this prior requirement is formulated in the provisions of the Law governing the Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction as a prior step to filing a contentious-administrative appeal and is based on “an in-depth technical, scientific, historical and legal argument which “calls into question both the procedure followed and the content of the demarcation approved by the State.”.

He specifies that the new demarcation includes territories which, “in accordance with coastal legislation, do not meet the necessary conditions to be considered in the maritime-terrestrial public domainbecause they are not currently subject to the ebb and flow of the tides and also do not fulfill an effective function of defense or stability of the coastline. The document highlights that this delimitation extends “significantly” inland, including large areas of marsh and stretches of sandy inlets that had already been excluded from a previous delimitation approved in 2021.

In the specific case of the Doñana marshes, the requirement highlights that their current hydrological functioning, and for centuries, It is rain-fluvial and not tidal, “as evidenced by the abundant scientific and technical literature prepared both by the Andalusian Government itself and by the bodies of the General Administration of the State, universities and specialized research centers”. As detailed, the influence of the tides “is limited to a narrow strip close to the bed of the Guadalquivir, with no real capacity to flood the entire marsh due to the existence of a natural dam formed over the millennia.”

The ministry recalls that this disconnection of the marsh from the sea “is not a recent phenomenon, but a reality verified for centuries, even before the major hydraulic actions developed in the estuary”. The document criticizes the fact that the technical study used as a basis for the demarcation “wrongly” attributes a tidal origin to the floods which have an origin “clearly linked to rain and river flooding”.

The request also questions the interpretation made of the salinity of soils and groundwater, emphasizing that “this responds to ancient and geological processes”. not to a current link with the marine environment. According to the cited reports, the aquifer under the marsh “is a confined system, with no direct relationship with the sea, and the presence of salts in certain points cannot be used as a criterion to justify the inclusion of these lands in the maritime-terrestrial public domain”, he underlines.

Likewise, he emphasizes that “particular attention deserves sandy arm stretch treatment included in the 2025 demarcation” and recalls that these dune formations, with the exception of the first ridge close to the beach, “are dunes stabilized for centuries, detached from coastal dynamics and with a clearly continental evolution”. “Consequently, they do not fulfill coastal protection or beach stability functions, requirements required by the regulations in force for their consideration as a maritime-terrestrial public domain.”

“The demarcation does not add guarantees”

Many of these lands also have “a very long history” of traditional, forestry and livestock uses, and that they are subject to the “highest levels of environmental protection” possible because they are part of the Doñana National Park and Natural Area.

In this context, he considers that the expansion of the public domain “does not add additional guarantees of conservation, but it provides generates legal insecurity and unnecessary property conflicts“. From a procedural point of view, the requirement highlights “relevant deficiencies” in the treatment of the demarcation, such as “the lack of response for more than a year and a half to the allegations presented by the Junta de Andalucía in 2023, or the introduction of substantial modifications to the demarcation line, affecting several sections and numerous peaks”.

The border “affects 56% of public space properties, including all the marshes of the province of Seville, acquired by the State in 2006 from private owners and subsequently transferred to the autonomous community by a decree of cession” and also highlights “the absence of adequate land reconnaissance in a territory of extreme flatness, where minimal topographical differences condition flooding, drainage and marsh habitats”.

The document emphasizes that this on-site verification “is not a formal procedure, but rather an essential element to assess the real relevance of the proposed demarcation.” Another central aspect of this requirement is “the lack of consultation” in the Participation Council of the Natural Space of Doñana, collegial body in which all relevant administrations, scientific entities, conservation organizations, municipalities and social sectors are represented. This body published a report unfavorable to the approved demarcation, with a large majority of votes, and formally expressed its complaint for not having been consulted in a mandatory manner before the approval of the ministerial decree.

“Ensure conservation”

The Minister of Sustainable Development and Environment, Catalina García, indicated that the Council acted “from the beginning with institutional loyalty” and with “the sole objective that the delimitation of the public domain in Doñana meets solid and proven technical and scientific criteria. So, he said, a decision of this magnitude “must be based on the best available information and the knowledge accumulated over decades about how the marsh actually works.”

García emphasizes that this requirement “does not call into question the need to protect Doñana, but rather It seeks precisely to guarantee its conservation through rigor and consensus, avoid forced interpretations of regulations that do not correspond to the ecological reality of the space” and indicates that the approved demarcation “introduces elements of confusion that can affect the daily management of the natural space and coordination between administrations”.

The councilor maintained that Doñana is “a space of recognized universal value and that any action on its delimitation “It must be built from dialogue, respect for participating bodies and consistency with accumulated scientific knowledge.” In this sense, he defended that the requirement formulated by the Council is a “legitimate” legal tool to “reorient” the procedure and “open the door to a re-examination based on objective and shared criteria”.

He further announced that all this would be notified to the European Commission, as agreed during the Participation Council of the Doñana Natural Space. The Junta de Andalucía therefore asks the Ministry “repeal” the approved order or, alternatively, issue a new resolution “which integrates the alternative demarcation line proposed by the Directorate of Natural Space of Doñana, adapted to the geomorphological, hydrological and ecological reality of the territory, and fully aligned with current legislation and with the effective protection of this unique enclave.”