The Albufera and its surroundings have undergone continuous changes since its geological origin, to which human activity inside and outside the area have contributed. Property of the Crown since the reign of Jaume I, later of the State and since 1927, under municipal management, the public authorities have responded, usually with delays, to the claims of inhabitants and visitors, which have also changed over time. The development of the metropolitan area of Valencia, its industrial belt, agricultural intensification, and the enormous pressure from tourism due to its location were on the point of destroying its natural values from the 1960s onwards. In the 1970s, a development project to convert the Devesa del Saler into a tourist resort provoked an unprecedented mobilisation of citizens and in 1986 it was declared a Natural Park. The surrounding areas have been ancestrally linked to the Albufera and, being a park located in the heart of a metropolitan area with one and a half million inhabitants, by the early 1980s it was on the verge of collapse. Today, the Albufera can be considered a success story in wetland conservation.

This scenario of continuous change and a succession of policies until a consensus is reached to safeguard its natural values requires an assessment of the state of conservation in order to know what has been lost, but also what has been recovered and what remains to be done, in order to define what we want the Albufera to be in the future. This assessment, in such a dynamic area, can only be made with a long-term vision and with rigorous data that allow us to evaluate the effects of both the pressures and the conservation actions conducted since the end of the 20th century.

Fortunately, in the case of the Albufera, there is a long series of studies and records that allow us to evaluate the evolution of its habitats and species. The first Hydrobiology Laboratory in Spain was created in Valencia in 1912. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the lake and its surroundings have been the object of preferential attention by the University of Valencia. Coinciding with the deterioration of the lake and the Devesa, researchers redoubled their efforts to collect data and took steps to issue warnings about the degradation of the area. After its declaration as a Natural Park, the monitoring of species and habitats has been further reinforced, which has been particularly associated with the evaluation of conservation actions, but also of the impact of human activities on the environment.

This session will provide a summary of the most relevant long-term data.