In 2014, the Aranzadi Science Society launched the project “The Route of the Geese” with the support of the Biodiversity Foundation.

In 2014, the Aranzadi Science Society launched the project “The Route of the Geese”, within the framework of the call for grants from the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, in order to create a trans-European tourist experience along a set of Spanish wetlands following the migratory route of the geese. from Finland to Doñana.

The initiative seeks to highlight a series of wetlands in the Iberian Peninsula that are part of the Natura 2000 Network, in addition to generating, at the same time, economic resources thanks to the increase in the number of visits to these areas. An increase in income that will in turn serve for the conservation and management of these natural spaces.

The four wetlands participating in the project have some form of protection. These are Urdaibai, in Vizcaya, which is a Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA) and Site of Community Importance (SCI), Biosphere Reserve and Wetland Area of International Importance (Ramsar List); La Nava, in Palencia, SPA and SCI, Nature Reserve, Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar) and Catalogued Wetland; El Oso, in Ávila, a Catalogued Wetland Area, and finally, Doñana, in Seville and Huelva, SPA and SCI, National Park, Natural Park, Biosphere Reserve and Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar List).

Four wetlands that represent, together with their nearby habitats, an important part of the main ecosystems present in the Iberian Peninsula, from coastal estuaries to steppe lagoons from aquifer or marsh discharges, including endorheic lagoons, which evaporate on their surface all the water they collect from their hydrographic basin. Another of its great attractions is the range of species of great ornithological interest that can be seen in these wetlands. The imperial eagle, the crane, the great bustard or the osprey are just some examples of birds that have their natural habitat in these spaces.

Thanks to the support of the Biodiversity Foundation, the project will provide added value to the interpretation centres of these wetlands, as it includes actions to update and incorporate the contents available in these facilities. Another important aspect of the initiative is that it will mean a revitalisation of activity in the wetlands themselves, by guaranteeing a permanent flow of visitors, many of them from other European countries.