Wetlands win reprieve after deal over Andalucian natural space

Protection plan for Donana national park hailed by environmentalists as step in the right direction'

A controversial plan that would have placed one of Europe's most important and threatened wetlands in even greater jeopardy has been paused after an unexpected agreement was reached between Spain's caretaker government and the regional authorities in Andalucia.

Water supplies to the Donana national park in western Andalucia - whose marshes, forests and dunes extend across almost 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) and include a Unesco-listed national park - have declined drastically over the past 30 years because of climate breakdown, farming, mining pollution and marsh drainage.