The Sukarrieta port approved in the Urdaibai reserve with conditions

The Department of Natural Environment and Agriculture of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia has formulated the environmental impact statement for the logging project in plots 216, 217, 218, and 219 of polygon 1 in Sukarrieta, via Provincial Order 4793/2026, signed on August 3, 2026. The resolution was published in the Official Gazette of Bizkaia (Boletín Oficial de Bizkaia) number 161, on August 25, 2026, with the CVE reference BOB-2026a161-(I-995).

The project aims to exploit a forest mass with an area of 7.21 hectares, consisting mainly of Pinus radiata pines and a small area of white eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus). Specifically, the felling of 2,043 pines and 197 eucalyptus trees is proposed, using chainsaws and forest processors, in a single phase with a duration of 4-5 months.

Within the Urdaibai Reserve and ZEC

The project is located in the middle of the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve and, in part, within the ZEC ES2130006 Urdaibai river network / Red fluvial de Urdaibai. The Infernu and Ibeni streams flow through the area, and it is inhabited by the European mink (Mustela lutreola), native crayfish (Austropotamobius italicus), Iberian frog (Rana iberica), and the paleotropical fern Woodwardia radicans.

As background, the environmental impact reports carried out via Provincial Order 6384/2023 (of December 28, 2023) specified that the project required an ordinary evaluation, as there were significant effects on the environment. Consequently, the statement has been formulated in accordance with Law 21/2013 and Law 10/2021 (Basque Environmental Law).

Binding Conditions and Protection Areas

The Provincial Natural Heritage Service (Servicio Foral de Patrimonio Natural) has cartographically defined two “Strict Protection Zones,” where no logging activities will be carried out:

• 15 meters on each side of the Infernu stream (in horizontal projection), or the limit of the riparian/native vegetation if it exceeds that distance.
• 10 meters on each side of the southern riverbank, or the limit of the vegetation.

The version of the project signed in May 2026 incorporated these limits and the prohibitions and conditions regarding stream crossings. The statement establishes 10 binding conditions, among others:

• Access to Zone C Infernu will be made from the upper side.
• The regrowth of felled eucalyptus will be eliminated, at most within two years following the logging.
• Prospecting and verification visits will be carried out around the Sollube Megalithic Station and the Katillotxu Megalithic Group.
• Environmental monitoring will be carried out by the promoter, and invasive exotic species will be controlled before, during, and in the years following the logging.
• The start date will be notified two weeks before the works begin; and the pre-operational report and monitoring reports will be submitted according to Article 52 of Law 21/2013.

Impact and Validity

The award has a validity period of 4 years: if execution does not begin within that period, it will expire, provided there is no extension as provided for in Law 21/2013. The award is a mandatory and binding report, and it shall not be subject to appeal, without prejudice to the administrative or judicial remedies against the authorization act.

The resolution has been published with the signature of the provincial deputy Arantzazu Atucha Lejarreta, and in the Boletín Oficial de Bizkaia number 161, on August 25, 2026, in section I (official reference: BOB-2026a161-(I-995)).

Fuente: Boletín Oficial de Bizkaia, number 161, August 25, 2026, section I, pp. 1-6 (official reference: BOB-2026a161-(I-995)).