El Hondo
- Country:Spain
- Site number:455
- Area:2,386.8 ha
- Designation date:05-12-1989
- Coordinates:38°11'N 00°45'W
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Overview
Situated amid intensive farmland near the town of Elche, El Hondo is comprised of two large reservoirs, named Levante and Poniente, and their associated wetlands. The wetland was created in the 1920s, when the reservoirs were built using traditional methods, taking advantage of the natural morphology of the area, to provide water for irrigation. The construction methods resulted in what is now a very natural wetland that hosts almost 400 different species, many of them of national interest. It is especially important for waterbirds, hosting internationally important numbers of breeding squacco heron (Ardeola ralloides), wintering northern shoveler (Anas clypeata) and white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala), the latter being internationally endangered. Important fish species are also present, such as the endangered Aphanius iberus (Spanish killifish, locally known as fartet) and the critically endangered European eel (Anguilla anguilla). The site is used for irrigation, and inflow and outflow are controlled as necessary. Other human activities include hunting and fishing.
Administrative region:
Comunitat Valenciana
- National legal designation:
- Humedal del Catálogo de Zonas Húmedas de la Comunitat Valenciana - Humedal 14-Parque Natural del Fondó d'Elx (Acuerdo de 10 de septiembre de 2002, del Gobierno Valenciano, de aprobación del Catálogo de Zonas Húmedas de la Comunidad Valenciana; DOGV nº 4336, de 16/09/2002)
- Humedal del Inventario Español de Zonas Húmedas - Humedal IH521008–Parque Natural del Fondó d'Elx (Resolución de 9 de marzo de 2011, de la DGMNPF, por la que se incluyen en el Inventario Español de Zonas Húmedas 48 humedales de la Comunitat Valenciana; BOE nº 71, de 24/03/2011)
- Microrreserva de flora - Microrreserva de flora El Codo (Orden de 13 de junio de 2001, de la Conselleria de Medio Ambiente, por la que se declaran 16 microrreservas vegetales en la provincia de Alicante; DOGV nº 4.059, de 07/08/2001)
- Microrreserva de flora - Microrreserva de flora El Fondó- El Derramador (Orden de 6 de noviembre de 2000, de la Conselleria de Medio Ambiente, por la que se declaran 18 microrreservas vegetales en la Provincia de Alicante; DOGV nº 3928, de 30/01/2001)
- Microrreserva de flora - Microrreserva de flora El Fondó-Charca Sur (Orden de 6 de noviembre de 2000, de la Conselleria de Medio Ambiente, por la que se declaran 18 microrreservas vegetales en la Provincia de Alicante; DOGV nº 3928, de 30/01/2001)
- Microrreserva de flora - Microrreserva de flora El Fondó-Els Racons (Orden de 29 de abril de 2003, de la Conselleria de Medio Ambiente, por la que se declaran 5 microrreservas vegetales en la provincia de Alicante; DOGV nº 4.517, de 09/06/2003)
- Paruqe Natural - Parque Natural del Hondo (Ley 11/1994, de 27 de diciembre, de la Generalitat Valenciana, de Espacios Naturales Protegidos de la Comunidad Valenciana; DOGV nº 2423, de 09/01/1995)
- Regional (international) legal designations:
- EU Natura 2000
- Last publication date:14-07-2020
Downloads
Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)
Additional reports and documents
- Taxonomic lists of plant and animal species occurring in the site
- A description of the site in a national or regional wetland inventory
- Other published literature