Mancha Húmeda

View of the Tablas de Daimiel wetlands

Mancha Húmeda is a Spanish wetland area which was designated a Biosphere reserve in 1980.

"Húmeda" means damp in Spanish and "Mancha Húmeda" refers to the wetlands of La Mancha, a predominantly arid part of central Spain. The core area of the reserve is the Tablas de Daimiel National Park, which has been important for its bird population. The buffer zone of Mancha Húmeda includes a natural park, the Lagunas de Ruidera Natural Park. The natural park, which is larger than the national park, is administered by the regional government of Castile-La Mancha.

Conservation issues

Some conservationists have questioned the future of Tablas de Daimiel as a biosphere reserve because the eco-system has been damaged by over-use of water resources in the area.^[1] UNESCO has given Spain given until 2011 to reverse the degradation of Tablas de Daimiel. At that time a decision may be taken to withdraw the park's biosphere status if sufficient progress has not been made in restoration. Whether Mancheda Húmeda could exist as a biosphere reserve independently of the Tablas de Daimiel is not clear. Lagunas de Ruidera are at a higher altitude and therefore do not share the same water table.

In 2009 subterranean fires broke out after a hot summer. The phenomenon of peat igniting had occurred in the basin of the Guadiana in previous years, but this was the first time it had affected the core area of the biosphere reserve.^[2]

See also

• Lagunas de Ruidera

References

1. ^ press report 2008-6-14 El País, accessed 2009-10-25
2. ^ "Spanish wetland facing destruction as farming starves it of water", Giles Tremlett, The Guardian.

• UNESCO Directory