Santoña Marshes Natural Park was declared a nature reserve in 1992, a natural park in 2006, a RAMSAR site in 1994, and Natura 2000 site. Santoña, Victoria, and Joyel Marshes Natural Park is located on the Eastern Cantabrian coast and encompasses 6.678 hectares. In summer, the population increases significantly, and some cities can see their population grow from 2.000 to 90.000 people. This sharp change has a significant impact on the economy, but also on the environment since thousands of visitors go to the beach or walk in fields and wetlands.
This Natural Park is one of the most important protected areas in the North of Spain. Indeed, marshes, wetlands, and dunes are the main ecosystems and cover more than 50% of the protected area. In other words, about two-thirds of the whole area is occupied by three Sites of Community Importance (SCI); two of them for estuarine waters and shallow tidal waters, and one for forest habitats.
