Editing Doñana National Park (section)

===Aznalcóllar disaster===
{{Main|Doñana disaster}} 
On 25&nbsp;April 1998, a holding dam burst at the '''Los Frailes mine''' operated by the mining company, [[Boliden|Boliden-Apirsa]], near [[Aznalcóllar]], [[Seville Province]], releasing 4–5&nbsp;million cubic metres of mine [[tailings]]. The [[acid]]ic tailings, which contained dangerous levels of several [[heavy metal (chemistry)|heavy metals]], quickly reached the nearby River Agrio, and then its tributary the River [[Guadiamar]], travelling about 40&nbsp;kilometres along these waterways before they could be stopped<ref>{{citation | title = El desastre ecológico de Aznalcóllar | last1 = Aguilar | first1 = J. | last2 = Dorronsoro | first2 = C. | last3 = Fernández | first3 = E. | last4 = Fernández | first4 = J. | last5 = García | first5 = I. | last6 = Martín | first6 = F. | last7 = Ortiz | first7 = I. | last8 = Simón | first8 = M. | url = http://edafologia.ugr.es/Donana/aznal.htm | publisher = University of Granada | access-date = 10 October 2010 | archive-date = 17 March 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110317050659/http://edafologia.ugr.es/donana/aznal.htm | url-status = dead }}.</ref> and advancing as far as the prepark. The cleanup operation took three years, at an estimated cost of €240&nbsp;million.<ref>{{citation | title = El desastre que amenazó Doñana | url = http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/desastre/amenazo/Donana/elpepisoc/20101006elpepisoc_6/Tes | newspaper = El País | date = 6 October 2010  }}.</ref> Although the spill was slowed by levees and diverted by way of the Guadalquivir to the sea, the vulnerability of Doñana's ecosystems to such environmental catastrophes was evident.

To ensure sustainable development both in the countryside and in the surrounding provinces, as well as to counteract future environmental threats, an International Commission of Experts met in 1992 to propose solutions, and produced the ''Plan de Desarrollo Sostenible de Doñana y su Entorno'' (Plan for Sustainable Development of Doñana and its Surroundings), briefly described as:

{{blockquote|text=A plan of action, implemented through the Doñana Operational Programme and funded by the regional government of Andalusia and the Spanish State, as well as the Feder Funds, ESF and EAGGF, to revitalise both the regional infrastructure and social fabric through a new economic model of development compatible with preserving the biodiversity of such an extraordinarily important natural heritage as Doñana.}}

[[File:Las Marismas, Villafranco del Guadalquivir.jpg|thumb|220px|[[Rice field]] in Las Marismas, near [[Isla Mayor]]]]
This effectively became the mission statement of the Doñana 21 Foundation, created in 1997 as a partnership between the Governing Council of the Andalusian Regional Government and the El Monte, San Fernando and Unicaja savings banks. The plan established among its objectives the promotion of actions beneficial to the natural environment, seeking the cooperation of national and European governmental bodies, and the various organizations with an interest in the park, economic or otherwise, for sustainable development of the area (e. g., by encouraging the organic farming of rice).<ref>{{cite news|title=Fundación Doñana 21 presenta mañana su proyecto de arroz 100% ecológico|url=http://www.abcdesevilla.es/20100325/sevilla-economia-economia/doniana-201003251855.html|access-date=23 March 2014|newspaper=ABC Sevilla|date=25 March 2010|location=Sevilla|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129132441/http://www.abcdesevilla.es/20100325/sevilla-economia-economia/doniana-201003251855.html|archive-date=29 January 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Since then, representatives from Council agencies, businesses, trade unions and conservation organizations such as WWF have joined the foundation and collaborated in meeting its goals.