As a wetland, the delta is a productive environment on which innumerable plant and animal species depend for their survival. The marshes develop many vital functions, such as waters storage, protection against storms, stabilisation of the coast, recycling of nutrients and pollutants, etc. It also offers economic benefits for local communities through the traditional exploitation of its natural resources: fishing, hunting, agriculture, stockbreeding, saltpans and, more recently, tourism.The convergence of the marine and mainland environment gives rise to a large number of fish species (about 50). As for birds, over 400 species have been cited in the delta for it houses some of the most important seabird breeding colonies in the Mediterranean. A total of 764 species of flora have been cited: A large number have had to adapt to the extreme conditions and colonise dunes, hypersaline soils, areas permanently under water, etc.