Monday, Sep 23, 2013
Abu Dhabi: One million existing or new electricity poles in 70 countries are to be made safer — to save the declining Saker falcon population.
The move is part of a global action plan to save the falcons that was discussed at an international meeting in Abu Dhabi last week.
A survey along a 50-kilometre-long electric line in Mongolia found 235 electrocuted birds in six months, an official told Gulf News last Sunday.
As there are hundreds of thousands of kilometres of unsafe electric poles in 70 countries that cover the Saker falcon’s migratory range, the number of birds being electrocuted could be enormous, although the exact number is not known, Nick Williams, Programme Officer, Birds of Prey, Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia, said.
The Saker falcon population has dwindled globally to a mere 11,000 pairs. A UAE project in Mongolia has helped breed 3,700 chicks since 2010.
International organisations such as the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) have recognised this as one of the top priority issues facing migratory birds today and efforts are scaling up across the globe to turn governmental decisions into results on the ground.
Some countries in Europe and Russia have created legislation that obliges power companies to make electric poles bird-safe, Williams said.
There is not much difference in cost for safe and unsafe poles, he said.
The poles can be designed in a way that does not allow birds to land on them and subsequently get electrocuted, the official said.
Bird-safe poles
Removing the risk of electrocution directly reduces unplanned outages, saves repair costs and improves supply to customers.
The project to make electric poles bird-safe will begin in four or five countries in the Middle East and North Africa that are breeding areas for Saker falcons and later be extended to other countries, Williams said.
As the global action plan to be finalised in late 2014 is a 10-year project, this initiative is also expected to be completed in the same period, he said.
The cost of the project has not been estimated yet but governments, power companies and various other stakeholders will be involved.
The Abu Dhabi meeting agreed that the private sector must join efforts to share the cost and benefits of making the energy infrastructure safe for birds.
The Saker Falcon Task Force-Stakeholders’ Action Planning Meeting that convened in Abu Dhabi last week aimed to refine the Saker falcon (Falco cherrug) Global Action Plan. The meeting attended by more than 70 representatives from different governments, nature conservation authorities and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) identified the unsustainable capturing of falcons from the wild as another major threat.
As the practice is illegal there is no estimate of the number of Saker salcons being captured or their monetary value, Williams said. Last year the UAE customs authorities intercepted the movement of 55 Saker salcons, he said.
“Their price varies, depending on the colour, size and other features.”
The meeting stressed that unsustainable trapping can only be addressed by enhanced cooperation between governments, conservationists, falconers and trappers. The participants agreed to step up international cooperation with all interested parties to boost efforts in target countries where this problem remains unsolved.
Mohammad Al Bowardi, managing director of the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD), said the meeting’s aim was to take an active step towards fulfilling the shared responsibility of protecting the Saker salcon.
By Binsal Abdul Kader Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
