Spain announces a 1.4 billion-euro deal to help protect the prized Doñana wetland from drying up
By CIARÁN GILES
Associated Press
MADRID (AP) — National and regional authorities in Spain have signed an agreement to invest 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in areas around the treasured national park of Doñana in a bid to stop the wetland from drying up. The ecological transition minister says the plan aims to encourage farmers to stop cultivating crops that rely heavily on water from underground aquifers that have been overexploited. Doñana is one of Europe’s largest wetlands. Farmers will receive financial incentives to stop cultivating and to reforest land. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is a stopover spot for millions of birds migrating from Africa to northern Europe.