A international campaign has been launched to protect the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve in Spain from a controversial expansion of the Guggenheim Museum. Spearheaded by the Mediterranean Alliance for Wetlands, this coalition includes 77 organizations across 35 countries, from WWF and BirdLife partners to grassroots Basque groups.
At the heart of the conflict is the proposed construction of two new museum facilities—one of which would lie within the core of the Urdaibai Estuary, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, and Natura 2000 site. Conservationists warn the project would devastate habitat for more than 250 bird species—118 of them protected under EU law—and dozens of threatened species listed on the IUCN Red List, including the critically endangered European mink (Mustela lutreola).
Backlash is mounting both locally and globally. Recent protests across the Basque Country, alongside thousands of signatures on petitions and a scientific manifesto, signal public resistance. The Mediterranean Alliance and its partners have submitted three formal letters urging the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition, UNESCO, and the Ramsar Secretariat to act swiftly. If the project moves forward, the Urdaibai site risks losing its UNESCO Biosphere designation.
You can get access to all project’s details by clicking these links: press kit and read the full press release in several languages (EN, FR, ES, Euskera).
