The National Court has rejected the provisional suspension of the delimitation of the maritime-terrestrial public domain of the Doñana marshes approved by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. This is established in an order issued on April 29 by the First Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber, which dismisses the request submitted by the environmental organization WWF.
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The judicial procedure refers to the delimitation of a stretch of about 118,772 meters affecting marshes located in the municipalities of Hinojos and Almonte, in the province of Huelva, and Aznalcázar, in Seville. Within this area are several properties owned by WWF, including Marismas del Caño de Guadiamar and Cerrado de Marilópez, located in the Doñana National Park.
The environmental organization requested the suspension of the ministerial resolution alleging the existence of a risk of irreversible damage to the natural area if the delimitation was executed before the substance of the appeal was resolved. In its statement, WWF warned of possible impacts on freshwater wetlands and Doñana’s ecosystems, protected by national and international regulations, and argued that the classification of the marsh as a “tidal marsh” could require modifying planning instruments such as the Natural Resources Management Plan, the Use and Management Master Plan, or the Guadalquivir Hydrological Plan.
In response, the State Attorney opposed the adoption of the precautionary measure and argued that the delimitation is strictly declarative in nature, not involving physical material actions on the ground nor alterations to the hydrological or ecological regime of the marshes.
After analyzing the conflicting interests, the court concludes that the necessary requirements to grant the requested precautionary measure are not met. The order emphasizes that the delimitation of the maritime-terrestrial public domain does not involve works or physical interventions but is limited to declaring the public ownership of the lands according to the Coastal Law. In this regard, the National Court rules out the existence of irreparable harm and considers that including the marshes in the public domain strengthens their protection through more intense administrative oversight.
Furthermore, the chamber points out that the management of the Doñana Natural Area will continue to be governed by its specific planning instruments and that the park’s jurisdictional regime is not altered by the approval of the delimitation. It also recalls that the former owners of the lands included in the public domain have the right to request a concession to maintain existing uses, in accordance with current legislation.
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The National Court therefore agrees to deny the suspension of the ministerial resolution of October 10, 2025, without imposing costs in this incident. An appeal for reconsideration may be filed against the order within five working days.
WWF will appeal the National Court’s order. This was announced by Juanjo Carmona, spokesperson for the environmental organization on the Doñana Natural Area Participation Council, who emphasizes that the judicial ruling does not address the substance of the matter. “From experience, it is very difficult for a court in these types of cases to grant a precautionary measure, as it understands that the administration initially defends the general interest, and therefore usually does not admit them,” he explained. However, he noted that WWF will continue with the procedure because it considers that the application of the delimitation “could indeed create a problem for tomorrow.”
The organization’s spokesperson recalled that the order is limited to ruling on the requested suspension and that the judicial procedure is still in an initial phase. “The substance of the matter has not been addressed, as is logical. We are only in the early stages and have not even yet filed the claim; we are within the deadline,” he indicated.
According to Carmona, in that claim, WWF will provide the necessary arguments to challenge the grounds of the delimitation approved by the Ministry. “We will be able to demonstrate that the grounds for this delimitation are completely incorrect and not at all true with the history and previous administrative decisions made in Doñana,” he stated.
Regarding the classification of the marshes as tidal marsh, the WWF spokesperson insisted that the organization does not deny the historical existence of this type of ecosystem in Doñana but disagrees with the extent proposed in the delimitation. “We are fully convinced that there has been and should be a tidal marsh in Doñana, of very high value, but neither history nor historical scientific data can be falsified,” he said.
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