Final Report on the Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Birds in the Region of Kaliakra, Bulgaria (Activity 3) Author: Mag. Dr. Stefan Schindler Hauptstraße 21/3 3013 Tullnerbach, Austria Requester: Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW) Version: 31.07.2020 Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Birds in the Region of Kaliakra Content 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3 2. History of Kaliakra SPA .................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Status of the territory and the process of establishing IBA .................................................... 4 2.2 List of SPAs in Bulgaria and the place of SAC Kaliakra on the list ............................................ 8 2.3. The process of identifying SPA Kaliakra. ............................................................................... 18 3. Description of relevant terms of the assessment ......................................................................... 22 4. Constructed wind turbines in the region of Kaliakra .................................................................... 26 5. The migration route “Via Pontica” in Bulgaria .............................................................................. 27 6. Methods applied at wind farms in the Kaliakra region ................................................................. 29 7. Implemented Mitigation Measures ............................................................................................... 32 7.1 The collision avoidance system at St Nikola Wind Farm, Kaliakra ........................................ 32 7.2 The Integrated System for Protection of Birds ...................................................................... 33 8 Relevant methods for impact assessment at operating wind farms ............................................ 35 8.1. Collision rates ........................................................................................................................ 35 8.2. Population status and trends ................................................................................................ 36 9. Case examples from other EU member states .............................................................................. 37 9.1. Southern Iberia ...................................................................................................................... 38 9.2. Sicily ....................................................................................................................................... 41 9.3. Baltic Sea ............................................................................................................................... 43 10. Methodology of impact assessment ............................................................................................. 47 11. Consultation results ....................................................................................................................... 51 11.1. Assessment of collision mortality impacts ........................................................................ 51 11.1.1. Kaliakra wind farm ......................................................................................................... 52 11.1.2. Sveti Nikola Wind Farm ................................................................................................. 52 11.1.3. Collision mortality at EVN Wind Farm in autumn 2015 ................................................ 53 11.1.4. Collision mortality: summary ........................................................................................ 54 11.2. Assessment of other impact types .................................................................................... 55 11.2.1. Displacement ................................................................................................................. 55 11.2.1.1. Red-breasted Geese in Kaliakra and neighboring regions ........................................ 55 11.2.1.2. Geese and windfarms: Insights from international studies ...................................... 64 11.2.1.3. Displacement: summary ............................................................................................ 65 11.2.2. Barrier effects ................................................................................................................ 66 1 Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Birds in the Region of Kaliakra 11.2.3. Habitat loss .................................................................................................................... 67 11.3. Comparison oft he wind farms in Kaliakra with other European wind farms ................... 69 12. Recommendations to improve impact monitoring and mitigation .............................................. 71 12.1. Homogeneity of the dataset.............................................................................................. 71 12.2. Spatial range of observations ............................................................................................ 72 12.3. Weather conditions ........................................................................................................... 72 12.4. Overview on field work effort per vantage point .............................................................. 72 12.5. Monitoring of breeding birds ............................................................................................ 72 12.6. Optional efforts for potential target species ..................................................................... 73 12.7. Overview of parameters .................................................................................................... 73 12.8. Transparency, data availability, and stakeholder involvement ......................................... 74 13. Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 74 14. References ..................................................................................................................................... 75 ANNEX ................................................................................................................................................... 89 2 Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Birds in the Region of Kaliakra 1. Introduction Climate change and biodiversity loss, if not averted immediately, may inflict severe impacts on ecosystem processes, functions and services that are crucial for human welfare. Increasing renewable energy deployment and expanding the current protected area network represent key solutions to these challenges, but conflicts may arise over the use of limited land for renewable energies as opposed to biodiversity conservation (Pogson et al. 2013; Pouzols et al. 2014; Meller et al. 2015). Development of wind power, one major type of renewable energy, is strongly increasing in Europe and elsewhere (AWEA 2014; EWEA 2015; Wang et al. 2015). Impacts on biodiversity by wind power are strongly contingent on the location of the wind turbines. Consequently, conflicts between nature conservation, local communities and wind energy companies are frequent, in terms of biodiversity conservation, in particular with regard to the impact of wind energy on birds and bats (Loss et al. 2013; Wang et al. 2015). Different kinds of impacts can occur and some of them are difficult to assess, particularly for rare and for endangered species (Stewart et al. 2007; BirdLife International 2013). The lack of comprehensive empirical data and of evidence-based knowledge syntheses of biodiversity impacts and the effectiveness of mitigation measures might hamper the long-term development of the wind power industry by reaffirming negative stereotypes and public opposition (Masden et al. 2010; BirdLife International 2013; May et al. 2015; Wang et al. 2015). The Ministry of Environment and Water commissioned the preparation of a “Full-scale independent impact assessment of the exploitation of wind parks in the region of Kaliakra, pursuant to Recommendation 200 (2018) of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention”. Herewith, the final report (“Activity 3”) with the results from this analysis, containing an assessment, recommendations, and conclusion is delivered. 2. History of Kaliakra SPA In this section the historical information about the process of determining the Important Bird Area (IBA) and Special Protection Area (SPA) “Kaliakra” is developed. This includes (i) the state of the territory and the process of establishing IBA, (ii) a list of SPAs in Bulgaria and the place of SAC Kaliakra on the list, and (iii) the process of identifying SPA Kaliakra. 3 Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Birds in the Region of Kaliakra 2.1 Status of the territory and the process of establishing IBA The Kaliakra wind farms are situated close to the Black Sea coast in northeastern Bulgaria. According to the databases of the official webpages of the European Union1, the “quality” of IBA Kaliakra is describe as follows: “Kaliakra IBA is the only site in Bulgaria, which keeps the remaining Eastern Dobrudzha steppe, as well as the biggest cliffs along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It supports 310 bird species, 71 of which are listed in the Red Data Book for Bulgaria (1985). Of the birds occurring there 106 species are of European conservation concern (SPEC) (BirdLife International,