For the targeted implementation of the National Species Assistance Programme, a new project is identifying conflict areas and potential areas for collision-prone large bird species — joint press release by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the German Ornithologists’ Umbrella Association (Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten e. V., DDA).
The aim is to protect these species, promote population development and thereby contribute to the expansion of wind energy in a way that is compatible with nature conservation. The grant recipient is the German Ornithologists’ Umbrella Association (DDA). The project is supervised and funded by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) using resources from the National Species Assistance Programme.
The aim of the project is to evaluate nationwide datasets as part of extensive habitat modelling in order to identify conflict areas and potential areas for affected large bird species. The project focuses on the 15 breeding bird species classified as collision-prone under the Federal Nature Conservation Act, including, for example, the white-tailed eagle, red kite, Montagu’s harrier and peregrine falcon. During the 14-month project period, nationwide occurrence data will be used to describe the distribution patterns of these species and identify particularly valuable protected areas that represent key population centres. In addition, the project will derive important potential and development areas with particularly suitable habitats for these species. On this basis, the species-specific protection measures due to begin under the national species assistance programmes can be guided in order to implement conservation measures effectively and thus contribute to the nature-compatible expansion of wind energy.
In the first part of the project, information on the local breeding occurrences of the bird species listed above in Germany will be compiled. In the second part of the project, this information will be combined with high-resolution environmental variables such as land use, weather and landscape diversity to develop species-specific habitat models. These models can be used to calculate spatial predictions of the probability of local occurrence as well as the fundamental suitability of habitats in a given region. In the third part of the project, species-specific and cross-species model maps will be overlaid with the locations of wind turbines in Germany in order to assess sites. This makes it possible to identify and classify overlaps between breeding bird occurrences and wind turbines. The model results can then be used to concentrate conservation measures in suitable potential areas, thereby specifically increasing the effectiveness of the planned species assistance programmes for species affected by wind energy expansion, such as the red kite and Montagu’s harrier.
The results and data bases will be published in a specialist publication and made available online for use in planning species protection measures and wind turbines.
Background
In the 2022 amendment to the Federal Nature Conservation Act, the development and implementation of national species assistance programmes were newly introduced, particularly for species especially affected by the expansion of renewable energies. At the same time, a list of 15 collision-prone breeding bird species was added: white-tailed eagle, osprey, lesser spotted eagle, golden eagle, Montagu’s harrier, hen harrier, western marsh harrier, red kite, black kite, peregrine falcon, Eurasian hobby, European honey buzzard, white stork, short-eared owl and eagle owl. Funding for national species assistance programmes was also made available.
The national species assistance programmes (nSAP) are intended to support projects that serve the long-term protection of species and their habitats, as well as the improvement of their conservation status. The focus of the funding programme is on protecting species affected by the expansion of renewable energies.
The nSAP aims to improve, in the long term, both the conservation status of various species and the quality and connectivity of their habitats. In this way, it is intended to accompany the expansion of renewable energies. It also seeks to ensure stable populations across Europe within their natural ranges.
Further information
National Species Assistance Programme