During the recent 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention of Migratory Species (CMS, aka Bonn Convention) in November in Norway, two reports were launched about the impacts of powerlines on migratory birds in the African – Eurasian region and the guidelines for preventing these impacts. This is a very important issue gaining more and more publicity as the effects of collisions and electrocutions are becoming better documented. The reports explain that collisions and electrocution with powerlines are a very important cause of unnatural death for many threatened and endangered species, especially the larger ones, such as cranes, birds of prey, bustards, owls, storks, pelicans, and other. The impact can be so severe so as to cause local or regional extinctions, and use as an example the Blue Cranes in an area in South Africa, where 12% of the population dies annually due to collisions with power lines. Collisions tend to occur in all habitat types but especially on migration corridors and near water, while electrocutions tend to occur more regularly in open habitats lacking natural perches or nesting trees for birds, such as steppes, deserts and wetlands.
The two reports were commissioned by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) / Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) and were titled: "The Review of the Conflict Between Migratory Birds and Electricity Power Grids in the African-Eurasian Region" and "Guidelines on How to Avoid or Mitigate the Impact of Electricity Power Grids on Migratory Birds in the African-Eurasian Region".
To download the reports please click here: Review of the Conflict between Migratory Birds and Electricity Power Grids in the African-Eurasian Region and Guidelines for Mitigating Conflict Between Migratory Birds and Electricity Power Grids.
On another development related to powerlines and the energy grid, on 10 November 2011, ten green NGOs including BirdLife Europe, and nine national electricity grid operators signed the ‘European Grid Declaration on Electricity Network Development and Nature Conservation in Europe’. The declaration aims to ensure Europe develops the power networks it needs for renewable energy expansion over the next while avoiding impacts on biodiversity. Due to the need to expand renewables in the coming 10 years, the European Commission expects to spend up to 140 billion Euros of investment in electricity networks, the development of which could potentially have grave impacts on biodiversity.
The declaration was signed at a well-attended event at the European Parliament, and was handed to DG Energy Commissioner Oettinger.
The signing NGOs were BirdLife Europe, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, Friends of the Earth Europe, Friends of the Earth Scotland, Germanwatch, Global Nature Fund, Greenpeace Europe, Natuur en Milieu, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), WWF. The grid operators are Elia (Belgium), National Grid (UK), REE (Spain), RTE (France), Statnett (Norway), Swissgrid (Switzerland), TenneT (Netherlands), Terna (Italy), 50Hertz (Germany).
You can view the declaration and more information at www.renewables-grid.eu.
