Thursday, March 28

Thousands of electrical towers are adapted in the Valencian Community to save birds



The Valencian Community has corrected in the last four years more than 10,000 electrical supports considered dangerous. Specifically, the action has intensified during the 2019-2021 period and has multiplied by six the sum of actions carried out in the previous decade.

The increase in these corrections, promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Ecological Transition, has meant a decline in year-on-year bird mortality of over 25%, according to sources from the Generalitat.

Death by collision or electrocution is one of the main threats suffered by wild birds in Spain, as conservation entities have repeatedly denounced.

Recent studies have estimated that between 11,000 and 33,000 birds of prey die each year in our country due to power lines. It is the main cause of death for several species, including the threatened Iberian imperial eagle, Bonelli’s eagle and great bustard.

Dead bird of prey on an electrical tower Agencies


The general director of the Natural Environment, Julio Gómez, has pointed out the work of the Valencian Administration to mitigate this threat. Among the actions carried out are environmental responsibility files, agreements with electricity companies, agreements with the Ministry of Agriculture and corrections carried out directly by the Generalitat to reverse the impact of the lines on birds.

In this sense, the intensification of the corrections has been joined by the installation of bird-saving devices and some 150 km of line have been signaled in the 2021-2023 period to avoid possible collisions of the avifauna.

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On the other hand, the Conselleria, in addition, continues to determine correction priorities, assuming with its own budget corrections in privately owned supports, and with special attention and action in the Marjal de Pego-Oliva, a wetland of great importance for birds.

The general director has highlighted the work in the Albufera, one of the preferential areas of action where a thousand supports have been adapted, making the ecosystem a significantly safer space.

Operators adapting a tower Europa Press


The action also extends to the regulatory framework with a new resolution of July 6, 2021 of the Regional Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development, Climate Emergency and Ecological Transition, which extends the protection zones from 35% to 87% of the Valencian territory.

“This extension implies a challenge and a necessary environmental protection with a clear objective: to seek and put in place solutions to end this impact invisible until 2007“, stated the general director. Specifically, Royal Decree 1432/2008, on measures for the protection of birds against collision and electrocution on power lines, marks the beginning of legal obligations to correct power lines in Spain .

An obligation often unfulfilled

In November 2001, the Supreme Court issued a ruling establishing the conformity to law of Royal Decree 542/2020 by which, among other aspects, the requirements applicable to the holders of high-voltage power lines are adapted and specified for the verification of serious or very serious defects and the qualification of the facilities in what may pose a danger or damage to the environment.

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The towers kill thousands of raptors a year quercus magazine


The aforementioned decree came to modify different provisions on quality and industrial safety, and specifically, it introduced as a very serious defect of the facilities that which constitutes an immediate danger to the safety of people, goods or the environment.

Likewise, a serious defect is introduced as one that does not pose an immediate danger to the safety of people, property or the environment, but may be when a failure occurs in the installation. The existence of these defects classified as serious or very serious implies that inspections or inspection certifications of facilities that present said deficiencies are not admitted if no bird protection measures have been carried out.

This requires the owners of high-voltage power lines to take the necessary measures for the protection of birds and prevent the occurrence of accidents that affect biodiversity, which may give rise, in the event of serious or very serious defects, to the start of the corresponding sanctioning procedure. This correction of defects had to be carried out retroactively in the lines that are in protection zones within a period of 6 months.

As stated in the sentence, the modifications introduced establish within those that are declared a “protection zone” the technical requirements of the high-voltage transmission or distribution lines for the prevention against electrocution and the collision of birds.


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