White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) nesting on palms, Coto Doñana National Park, Spain

The Coto Doñana National Park in Spain was established as a nature reserve in 1969 when WWF joined with the Spanish government and purchased a section of marshes to protect it. Tourism at that time and the spread of hotels along the beach had been a major threat, but is today well regulated, educated and supportive to the management of the park. There has been a constant threat to the ecosystem, that of drainage of the marshes, the use of river water to boost agricultural production by irrigating land along the coas .