SA helps Aussie to save birds

South Africa and Australia are coordinating efforts to help wildlife negatively affected by electricity infrastructure.

The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) recently helped make history in Australia when Constant Hoogstad, senior manager: industry partnerships, went to Tasmania to facilitate the formalisation of a partnership between Raptor Refuge, a local Australian raptor rehabilitation centre, and Tasmania’s electricity company, TasNetworks.

The Eskom/EWT partnership, an example of what can be achieved when industries and conservationists work together, has been addressing electricity infrastructure impacts in SA for 22 years. The partnership started working with Raptor Refuge when founder Craig Webb reached out to Hoogstad in 2016, sharing his concerns about the electrocution of endangered wedge-tailed eagles in Tasmania. Webb later travelled to SA to learn more about the successful partnership and how it could be implemented in Australia.

This model was used as the blueprint for a system to address raptor electrocutions in Tasmania. “The support I have received from the EWT is outstanding and this had undoubtedly helped forge this partnership. There are 13 birds of prey in Tasmania.

Four of these are in decline – the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle, the grey goshawk, the white-bellied sea eagle and the Tasmanian masked owl.

“All these birds are at risk of succumbing to either collision with power lines or electrocutions. These threatened birds require a comprehensive state-wide action plan to avoid extinction,” Webb said.

Nearly two years after the initial contact, Raptor Refuge has launched a tollfree hotline for the public to report incidents in Tasmania and signed a formal partnership memorandum of understanding with TasNetworks, modelled on the Eskom/EWT partnership in SA.

In SA, the Eskom/EWT partnership is making great strides towards a wildlife-friendly electricity network. Over 20 000 power line structures have been replaced, insulated or modified to be bird-friendly and 190km of power lines have been fitted with bird flight diverters. – ANA