BUSINESS: 294 PRACTICES
Founded in December 2008, Enel Green Power Hellas is the Enel Green Power Group company dedicated to the development and management of power generation from renewable sources in Greece, with 308 MW of installed capacity.
Read more: www.enelgreenpower.com
For the Enel Green Power Group, sustainable development is the choice to face the challenges in the field of energy and climate change, in order to achieve the short-term and long-term goals of energy sufficiency and reduction of greenhouse gases. It is the driving force of the Group's business activity and sets at its core criteria based on ethics, quality, innovation, high technology and know-how. Recognizing and minimizing the impacts that our activities may have on wildlife is at the core of our biodiversity conservation plan. Through partnerships that we develop with specialist researchers and university bodies, we monitor and evaluate potential impacts on the fauna, from the whole range of our activities. One of the environmental programs we implement is the Operation and Monitoring Program of feeders for birds of prey in collaboration with the MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY OF CRETE (UNIVERSITY OF CRETE).
Poultry
This action started in April 2019 and will continue, at least, until July 2024.
The position of birds of prey at the top of the food pyramid, and especially their diet consisting of dead animals, makes them "cleaners of nature", since they help remove dead biomass, contributing to limiting the spread of diseases in humans and animals.
The presence of birds of prey is intertwined with livestock farming as dead livestock are a valuable source of food for them. So the birds know in which areas to find food in addition to foraging in the wild for wild animals. Both the reduction of extensive livestock farming in the Greek countryside in recent decades, as well as the application of strict veterinary and sanitary regulations, have led to the shrinking of this food resource, significantly affecting the populations of birds of prey. With the aim of increasing the available food, simulating as much as possible the natural processes, the company in collaboration with the MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY OF CRETE participates in the "Program of operation and monitoring of feeders for birds of prey in the areas of Asterousia - Kofina and SE Psiloritis in Crete". The Program includes the supply, operation and monitoring of existing feeding stations ("feeders") for birds of prey, from municipal slaughterhouses, which are already installed in the areas of Asterousia - Kofina and SE Psiloritis (a total of 2 existing feeders for birds of prey) .
In addition, the Natural History Museum of Crete has maintained a First Aid Station for wildlife species since 2000. The majority of those brought in, in the absence of a Care Center in Crete, are sent for care-treatment-recovery to the ANIMA Wildlife Protection and Care Association, with the final goal restoration and release into the natural environment. To strengthen the work of care, Enel Green Power will implement care actions and cover the following costs: a) supply of veterinary drugs and care consumables, b) carrying out veterinary examinations and operations required, at least for large predators, and c) feeding the host predators by supplying animal food and scraps.
In the first 9 months that the program in question was carried out (03/2019-12/2020) a total of 63 visits were made, of which 26 in the Ampelaki location and 37 in the Kofinas location.
A total of 6,820 kg of animal remains (meat and bones) were placed in both feeders. More specifically, 2,490 kg of animal remains were used at the Ampelaki site and 4,330 kg at the Kofinas site. For the overall presentation of the results of the observations, the division of the records into six months (spring and winter) was chosen, with the spring beginning in April and ending in September of each year, while the winter includes the months of October to March of each season. For the needs of recording the daily variations in the presence of the species in the CHTAPs, it was chosen to be presented in two (2) two hours of monitoring with the third two hours being included in the second two hours of observation. Eleven different (11) avian species were observed approaching and/or using the food provided during these visits.
Of these, three (3) species were corvids (Corvus, corax, Corvus corone, Pyrrhocorax graculus), two (2) scavenging birds of prey (Gyps fulvus, Gypaetus barbatus) and six (6) opportunistic scavenging birds of prey (Aquila chrysaetos, Milvus migrans, Falco eleonorae, Aquila heliaca, Buteo buteo, Circus aeruginosus). Also very positive is the presence of the pair of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) at the feeder, which nest at a relatively close distance.
The specific action is carried out in the areas of Asterousia - Kofina and SE Psiloritis in Crete.
This activity is carried out in collaboration with the MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY OF CRETE (UNIVERSITY OF CRETE).
For the successful implementation of the program, an important role was played by the cooperation of different departments (O&M-HSEQ) within the organization as well as the presence and support of local people.
Analyzing the protection status of the recorded species that approached or fed on the feeders we found that this particular initiative helped to preserve protected species of predators. In addition, the perfect coexistence of the project with the birdlife proves that by taking appropriate measures it is possible to protect nature while at the same time contributing to the fight against Climate Change. Finally, the collaboration with an educational institution where the protection of poultry is a key pillar, not only gave us more knowledge in this specific area but also created the basis for further actions to protect poultry
