La Nava wetland is situated in the eastern end of the region of Tierra de Campos, more precisely in the "Nava-Campos North" Birds Special Protection Area (S.P.A.) of 54.936 hectares, which is also proposed as Site of Community Importance and will then be very soon part of the Natura 2000 Network.

 

This area is extended to the provinces of Valladolid, León and Palencia, the part situated in Palencia being incorporated in the Natural Reserves Plan of Castilla and León, according to the decree 119/2000 of the 25th of may, under the name "Nava and Campos of Palencia" Natural Reserve. Its Natural Resources Management Plan has already been started, by Order of the 17th of May 2001.

 

La Nava wetland, with its 307 has., is declared since 1994 Wetland belonging to the list of important wetlands of Castilla and León, according to the Decree 194/1994 of the 25th of August, and is "Ramsar Site Nº1260" since the 20th of December 2002.

 

The landscape is dominated by slightly undulating plains, almost totally deforested, and mostly occupied by crops for dry farming, principally wheat and barley. The population is concentrated in a lot of small nucleus, which is typical of the basin of Castilla, but suffers from an intensive loss process and a demographic ageing.

 

In this landscape of pseudo steppe nature, stand out La Nava and Boada, wetlands, as special concentration points of wealth and diversity. However, the environment of agricultural land also shelters important steppe bird populations, a lot of them with unfavourable states of conservation as the great bustard with 779 individuals and the Montagu's harrier, calandra lark and skylark populations which, in this area, reach densities surpassing the average in Castilla and León. There is also an interesting nesting population of lesser kestrels (47-49 breeding pairs) and marsh harriers (21 breeding pairs).