Protection of the white stork

Project title: Environmentalists and Polish, Ukranian, and Belarussian energy services for the white stork protection

Beneficiary : „Stork” Environmental Association

City: Siedlce

Voivodeship: mazowieckie

Implementation period: July 2009 – December 2010

The white stork is a species protected by the power of Bonn Convention, Brno Convention, and is mentioned in the Bird Directive of the EU among the species most endangered with extinction. Stork’s breeding places are almost only in Europe. In order to keep the Eastern stork’s population in good condition, the „Bocian” Environmental Association has initiated international activities connected with this species. The project of protecting the the white stork is implemented in a partnership with West Ukrainian Ornithology Association, and the Belarussian Regional Department for National Birds Protection.

Project activities include renovation work done at nests placed in trees and on buildings. The work is based on allowing the birds to access the nests in the trees which overgrow, and to reinforce damaged nests on the buildings. The mentioned work will be made at 100 nests. In places with no other possibilities to secure the nests, there will be substitute nests placed in a form of standing posts with ready-made nests. There will be 25 such interventions.

In the project the Association works on protecting storks from electrical devices where storks are electrocuted every year. These are transforming stations and circuit interuptors where in the mazowieckie voivodeship around 450 storks die every year. The devices are modernised through changing old elements for new ones and moving them to the side of the post, so that the birds avoid the deadly contact with them. There will be 30 such devices installed.

The project assumes elimination of dangers connected with storks entangling in sisal strings. They are brought by the adult storks to the nests and cause the death of several hundreds of young ones every year in mazowieckie voivodeship alone. Dangerous strings will be removed from 150 nests.

Project activities will be popularised through books which will be prepared in project partners’ languages. These will be brochures and a film about storks and methods for protecting them.

The project will be popularised by content from the association’s website. An important element of the project is exchange of international experience connected with stork protection. Organising an international seminar in Poland, and study visits of Polish people to Belarussia and Ukraine will be great opportunities for such exchange.