VICTORY ! The Guggenheim Bilbao Museum Board has given up the extension project in Urdaibai for good. They decided this at their meeting on December 16, 2025. The fight led by GUGGENHEIM URDAIBAI STOP has won!
Urdaibai is the only biosphere in the Basque Country. UNESCO named it in 1984, it joined Natura 2000 in 2004, and Ramsar in 1971. It also has a bird protection area (ZEPA) and three special conservations zones (river network, coastal areas, marshes, and Cantabrian oak forest). Plus, it has its own land planning law. Building two new Guggenheim buildings inside is not acceptable.
Our actions
- July 9, 2025: We took part in the listening process about the museum build
- Read the article Urdaibai: a biosphere reserve in danger
The case
The Defenders
Our teams for Surfrider Spain and France contacted directly the platform GUGGENHEIM URDAIBAI STOP. This group leads the movement against building the two buildings and the “green path” in the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum expansion project. We also stay in touch with SEO/BirdLife, who collect signatures against the project.
State of the environment
Located at the north end of the Iberian Peninsula, Urdaibai is the largest wetland on the Cantabrian coast and a reserve of very rich biodiversity. Its geography makes it a vital stop on the Atlantic migration route for birds, but its ecological values goes beyond birds: it is a complex living system where marshes, estuaries, aquifers, and floodplains interact all the time.
Among the often ignored functions of these areas are those linked to blue carbon: salt marshes and sea grasses capture CO2 and store it in waterlogged, low-oxygen soils. This process traps carbon for centuries. Any change that disturbs these soils could release large amounts of CO2, suddenly ending their role as carbon sinks. Protecting these ecosystems also keeps a strong tool to fight climate change.
Putting new infrastructures like the Guggenheim extension would break this already fragile balance. On the target sites, especially the old Dalia factory, the underground has heavy metals from years of industry. Two levels touch the aquifer directly, so any construction work could be dangerous: a leak, collapse, or bad handling of waste could cause long-term pollution of groundwater, affecting the whole reserve.
The risk adds to another weakness: Urdaibai acts as a buffer against floods, thanks to its marshes that absorb high water. But making soils artificial with concrete, roads, and buildings would stop this natural absorption. URA, the Basque water agency, already calls the area high floods risk. Climate projections with sea level rise make it worse: by 2100, up to 25% of land in nearby towns like Gautegiz-Arteaga or Murueta could be underwater.
The land changes bring more pressure on natural resources. The Guggenheim’s fame would greatly increase toursim in the area. In peak season, Gernika’s population could triple, putting huge stress on local water supply, sewage, waste management, and transport. And this in a zone already hit by drought, where water is increasingly limited.
Our demand
Surfrider Foundation strongly rejects the Guggenheim project in Urdaibai. The project violates numerous protective laws and would have a destructive impact on this fragile biosphere reserve.