José Luis Piedra

Seville

Thursday, 9 April 20, 15:56

Spain’s National High Court (Audiencia Nacional, AN) has admitted the contentious-administrative appeal filed by Andalucía’s regional government against the boundary demarcation supported by the Spanish government in the marshes of Doñana Natural Park due to disagreements on the limits of the tidal influence zone.

The AN has also agreed to accept the Junta’s appearance in this process, a process that will address demarcation of the state maritime-terrestrial public domain assets in this area of Doñana marshes. This demarcation is promoted by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and includes land in two provinces of Andalucía: in Huelva, the towns of Almonte and Hinojos and, in Seville, the municipality of Aznalcázar.

The Junta has filed an appeal against the ministerial decision of 10 October, 2025 which approved the demarcation for a 118.772-metre strip of marshes. They claim that this proposal is “outside the natural limits of tidal influences and not properly justified”.

The regional government argues, too, that any delimitation for the public maritime-terrestrial area must be based on rigorous criteria as well as a complete understanding of the actual functioning of the area. Organisations and institutions such as the Doñana Natural Area (END), the town councils of Almonte and Hinojos, WWF, Ecologists in Action, the Doñana biological station, the Guadalquivir hydrographic confederation (CHG) and the Friends of Doñana association share the Junta’s opposition to the ordered demarcation. The Junta is opposed to the ordered demarcation. This includes organisations and institutions such as the Donana Natural Area (END), town councils of Almonte and Hinojos, WWF, Ecologists in Action, the Donana biological station, Guadalquivir hydrographic confederation (CHG) and Friends of Donana association.

The Ministry for Sustainability and Environment in Madrid had been informed by the regional ministry of its opposition against the demarcation. A formal request was submitted, but it went unanswered. The regional ministry’s position is based on reports submitted by the Doñana Natural Area, which questioned the reference to the so-called ‘river mountain’ as an artificial barrier.

According to the Junta “this mountain prevents marshland connecting with the tide, and it was designed specifically to facilitate flooding of marshes whose dynamics are influenced by rainfall and river flow and not marine activity”.

The boundary demarcation that is currently being litigated in this court impacts 56 percent of all public lands, including the marshlands of the province of Seville. These lands, acquired in 2006 by the state from private owners, were then transferred to the regional authority via a transfer-of-ownership decree.

The High Court orders the Ministry for Ecological Transition, to present to this judicial organ the administrative file (or files) to which the contested actions refers within a 20-day period that cannot be extended, or an authentified copy thereof.

The AN ordered that all potential parties be notified of the appeal proceedings, so that they could appear as defendants in nine days. The court decision also envisages the possibility of an independent proceeding to decide the precautionary measure requested by the regional administration. This parallel procedure determines whether the demarcation of the boundary is temporarily suspended until the court has considered the merits.

The Ministry must also inform this judicial body of the existence of any other contentious-administrative appeals that may be subject to joinder, according to the country’s procedural laws. The judicial authority also says that the appeal for reconsideration against this decision can be filed within five working days after notification.