Conservation of threatened bird species through retrofitting of hazardous overhead power lines in Natura 2000 sites in North-eastern Bulgaria

Introduction

The LIFE NE BG Safe Sky project is a joint initiative of ERP Sever – the distribution grid operator in North-eastern Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds – the BirdLife International’s partner in the country.

Project Goal

The project’s goal is to prevent unnatural mortality among globally threatened bird species caused by electrocution and collision with overhead power lines by applying best practices in state-of-the-art solutions.

Target Species

The project targets 16 bird species that are a priority for funding under the LIFE Programme:

1. 15 of them are listed in Annex I of the Bird Directive.
2. 10 species are listed in the IUCN Red List.
3. 14 species are of European Conservation Concern.

Specific Objectives

Key specific objectives of the project are:

• To prevent unnatural bird mortality by insulating 10,000 hazardous electricity pylons and by marking aerial conductors with 5,000 bird diverters in 28 project Natura 2000 sites and in key corridors between the SPAs.
• To establish a system for future monitoring of bird mortality along all power lines in NE Bulgaria.
• To provide 100 safe nesting sites for two of the target species on hazardous electricity poles by installing nest boxes.

Importance of the Project Area

The project area is an important breeding and wintering ground and migration route for birds flying between Europe and Africa along the Via Pontica flyway, which, after the Via Gibraltar, is the most important bird migration route for European birds. About 500,000 storks and 110,000 raptors from Northern, Eastern, and Central Europe migrate through the area.

Broader Implications

That is why the issue of bird mortality caused by energy infrastructure in the area far exceeds the national borders of Bulgaria and is of general importance for the EU countries whose birds migrate through or winter in the project area.

Socio-Economic Impact

A bird collision with wires and electrocution is also a socio-economic problem because it causes network failures and power outages for settlements, leading to economic losses and additional CO2 emissions.