The Council of Ministers has approved an agreement authorising the inclusion in the list of the Ramsar Convention, relating to wetlands of international importance, especially as habitats for waterfowl, fourteen new wetlands, eleven of them located in Andalusia. At the same time, the boundaries of Doñana (Andalusia) are extended and the boundaries of the lagoon and sandy area of Valdoviño (Galicia) are redefined.

The eleven Andalusian wetlands that are added to the Ramsar List are: Punta Entinas-Sabinar Natural Park, Edorheic Waiting Complex Nature Reserve, Laguna del Conde or El Salobral Natural Reserve, Laguna de Tíscar Nature Reserve, Laguna de los Jarales Nature Reserve, Padul wetlands and peat bogs, Laguna de los Palos y Madres Natural Park, Laguna Honda Nature Reserve, Laguna del Chinche Nature Reserve, Lagunas de Campillos Nature Reserve and Brazo del Este Natural Park.

The remaining three are: Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park (Catalonia), the wetlands of the Peñalara Massif (Madrid) and the wetlands of the Sierra de Urbión (La Rioja).

The new wetlands meet the criteria and technical requirements demanded by the Ramsar Convention and this was assessed at the meeting of the Spanish Humidity Committee held in January 2005 in San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcia). Subsequently, in February of this year, the National Commission for the Protection of Nature, the coordinating body of the Ministry of the Environment and the Autonomous Communities in matters of conservation, reported favourably on the proposal.

This agreement of the Spanish Government will be communicated to UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, depositary of the Ramsar Convention. Spain ratified this international agreement in February 1971 and the first Spanish contribution was the Doñana and Tablas de Daimiel National Parks.