Protecting Birds From Powerlines

This report synthesises evidence on biodiversity impacts from renewable power infrastructure, with a focus on solar power, wind power and powerlines.

The Council of Europe's Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, or "Bern Convention", came into force on 1 June 1982. The aim of the Bern Convention is to conserve biodiversity through a regional pan-European framework extended to include the Mediterranean regions and Africa. This document contains the texts adopted between 2001 and 2004 by the Standing Committee, a body composed of representatives of the Contracting Parties, whose meetings are attended also by observers. The Standing Committee is responsible for following the application of the Convention and can make recommendations to the Contracting Parties concerning measures to be taken for its implementation.

This book will provide the state-of-the-art on most of the topics involved in the ecology and conservation of birds of prey. With chapters authored by the most recognized and prestigious researchers on each of the fields, this book will become an authorized reference volume for raptor biologists and researchers around the world.

This book reviews the past, present and future generation and use of electricity. While noting the importance of electricity to the well-being of people, it argues that all means of electricity generation have adverse ecological consequences. The ecological effects of all the main forms of electricity generation, storage and transmission are reviewed in 14 chapters. The chapters briefly cover the engineering and physics of each method of electricity generation followed by a description of the different ways in which the technology interacts with the natural world. Finally, sections consider the importance of these impacts and how they can be mitigated or avoided. A final chapter summarizes the issues and emphasizes that the only way to truly minimize the impacts of electricity generation is to reduce our consumption and transmission. Future efforts should continue to focus on increasing the efficiency of light production, refrigeration, electrical appliances and batteries.