2022

Electric power is still regarded to be a major benefit for humankind, but it is also turning to be a significant threat for wildlife. Transmission and distribution electricity grids are expanding rapidly worldwide with significant negative impacts on biodiversity. Unfortunately, the routes of Eurasian migratory birds are concentrated in those regions at which mankind has erected the most elaborate grid of electric power lines.
In recent years, awareness has risen surrounding the dangerous interactions of birds and electric powerlines. Electrocution and collisions are substantial mortality factors for numerous bird species, despite the increasing number of mitigation measures implemented worldwide. The risk of power lines for birds is still an underestimated reason of mortality in some countries or areas and the data are either missing or absolutely insufficient. Hence, there is no legal setting for the mitigation of collisions on power lines as for electrocution. From some countries, only sporadic data were recorded by local experts and the wide public. Nevertheless, that greater investment in scientific research aimed at bridging gaps is needed - current knowledge already offers a solid basis for actions to improve the safety of electric powerlines.

This document provides a general overview on the current handling and knowledge of the birds vs. power lines issue on the national level of all 27 European (EU) member states by providing answers on a questionnaire prepared by Raptor Protection of Slovakia. The questionnaire was sent to a number of non-governmental organizations, BirdLife International offices, and electric utility companies. Unfortunately, low-quality information was retrieved from some countries. This possibly reflects the fact that available information on the subject of bird-power line interactions is genuinely limited and/or that relevant stakeholders are just not aware of the topic. Nevertheless, some of the missing information could be retrieved from scientific (and other) publications and documents. Through these sources, it was possible to prepare this document to present an up-to-date account of the scale and impact of electrocution and collision of birds with power lines. It also provides recommendations for actions and examples of best practices to reduce bird mortality.

We hope that this short overview can serve as a framework necessary for implementing best practice standards to reduce bird mortalities, document utility actions, improve service reliability, and comply with bird protection laws in the EU. An EU wide implementation can set the ground for the adaption in flyway regions with extraordinary demand for practical and effective measures like the Balkans, Middle East, or East Africa.