Madrid - The European Union is investigating Spain over the condition of an environmentally protected wetlands area, which is drying up and has begun burning underground, the daily El Pais reported Thursday. Las Tablas de Daimiel national park is located in La Mancha in south-central Spain.
It is on the list of international biosphere reserves of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It is also classified as a special protection area for birds by the EU.
The wetlands have, however, been drying up for years because farmers irrigating their fields have dug tens of thousands of wells there. A recent drought made the underground peat self-combust, with smoke occasionally rising above the ground.
Only 10 hectares of the park's 1,600 hectares now have water, according to figures quoted by El Pais.
The Spanish government is planning to pump water into the park from the river Tagus as an initial emergency measure, but environmentalists fear it is too late to save one of the most important wetlands on the Iberian Peninsula.
The investigation by the European Commission could lead to Spain being handed a fine, El Pais said. The park could also lose its internationally protected status.
Image courtesy of Eulogio Gálvez.
