• Less than 1% of Tablas de Daimiel remains as lagoons
• Fires burning underground as illegal wells dry out peat Workers near a smoke plumefrom an underground fire in Las Tablas de Daimiel national park in Spain  

By Giles Tremlett, in Madrid The EU has begun an investigation into a unique Spanish wetland park that is being devastated by underground fires. Local officials have admitted that mismanaged water resources at the Tablas de Daimiel national park may never recover. “We are on the point of losing the Tablas de Daimiel,” said Josep Puxeu, Spain’s secretary for state for water. With less than 1% of the park now covered by water, layers of underground peat have dried out and have started to spontaneously ignite. Park authorities are unable to locate the underground fires until they break to the surface. The wetland park, near the city of Ciudad Real in the central Castilla-La Mancha region, is classified as a UNESCO biosphere site and is one of just 14 national parks in Spain. A fresh fire was detected this week, confirming that the peat is still being destroyed. EU inspectors will investigate how for decades Spanish authorities have allowed thousands of illegal wells to be dug near the park. Scientists say the wells have lowered an aquifer that once spilled water on to the surface of the wetlands but now lies more than 12 metres (40ft) below ground. Despite repeated warnings over the past 20 years, people continue to pump water from the wells, using it to irrigate nearby farmland. “We are at a point of no return,” the park director, Carlos Ruíz, warned in a recent report. With the aquifer unable to feed the park, the wetlands are being kept alive artificially. Their survival now depends on water being pumped in from elsewhere. Similar underground fires heralded the death 20 years ago of the upper reaches of the river Guadiana, which is meant to feed into the wetlands. Ruíz, who raised the alarm in El País newspaper last week, has since been banned from talking to journalists. The Guardian was sent away from the park offices last week. …

Spanish wetland facing destruction as farming starves it of water