DTEK Grids joined an international project on the protection of the white stork

Thermal power generation11 July 2023

DTEK Grids joined an international project of the Polish Ornithological Society (Małopolskiego Towarzystwa Ornitologicznego) on the study and protection of the white stork. It unites energy companies of Poland and Ukraine for the sake of preservation of this bird. Within the framework of the project, energy workers help scientists (ornithologists) to ring the storks that build nests on the poles. Ringing allows tracking of migration routes, impact of external factors on population in different countries of the world, number of birds returning to the country. In early July, DTEK energy workers helped ornithologists ring 42 chicks in Ukraine. The company took part in this international initiative in compliance with its ESG strategy and in continuation of its own environmental and educational project #EnergyWings.

DTEK Grids joined an international project on the protection of the white stork

A project of the Polish Ornithological Society “Małopolskiego Towarzystwa Ornitologicznego” (МТО) helps preserve the white stork. Over the past 100 years, this bird has completely vanished from the north of France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, west and south of Germany. In Ukraine, its number is one of the largest and makes approximately 30,000 pairs. According to ornithologists, there are currently about 160,000 pairs of white storks in the world. The protection of the white stork in Ukraine is enshrined in legislation. The bird is protected by the law of Ukraine “About fauna,” as well as by Bonn, Bern and Ramsar conventions.

“DTEK Grids is a foundation and support for normal life of the country and Ukrainians. In 2023, we continue to concentrate all our efforts on restoration of electrical infrastructure, destroyed by the enemy, and on support of stable operation of the grid. At the same time, we continue implementing projects related to preservation of terrestrial ecosystems, because being true to the UN GC Sustainable Development Goal is important to us. We have joined the MTO’s stork ringing initiative in order to continue and scale our initiatives related to preservation of the white stork population in Ukraine. Since 2013, the company takes care of protecting this bird, totemic for Ukrainians. In 2021, we have transformed all our efforts in this direction into a large-scale environmental and educational project #EnergyWings,” – tells DTEK Grids chief ecologist Olena Potapenko.

During the first week of July, ornithologists in Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions together with energy workers have ringed 42 stork chicks in 20 nests. This is the first stage of project implementation. In 2024, the company plans to help ring about 400 more birds in the regions of business presence. Ringing is a method of studying wild birds by means of attaching a small metal or plastic individually marked ring-like tag to the bird’s limbs. This individual ring helps scientists track the bird in different countries of the world. This method is used to study migration, life span, death rate, etc. It helps scientists get up-to-date data about population and implement corrective measures to preserve it.

The following Polish energy companies participate in Małopolskiego Towarzystwa Ornitologicznego project: Tauron Dystrybucja SA, Energa Operator, Enea Operator, PGE Dystrybucja SA. By 2023, joint efforts of ornithologists and energy workers helped ring almost 4,600 storks and place 15 transmitters for tracking of storks’ migration on the territory of Poland. In 2023, Ukrainian energy companies have also joined the project, DTEK Grids among them.

For reference:

#EnergyWings is a DTEK Grids project, initiated in 2021. Its main goal is to help preserve population of the white stork in Ukraine. The project combined actions of business, future generation of Ukrainians and modern art to draw public attention to the issue of biodiversity loss and environment protection.

Continuing implementation of the project, in the spring of 2023, ecologists of the DTEK Grids Distribution System Operators conducted monitoring of the stork nests in Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Kyiv regions and in the city of Kyiv. They inspected the ones that company’s energy workers have been reinforcing with special protective metal structures over the past 10 years. Despite hostilities and missile strikes, the reinforced nests have survived in every region and the birds have settled in an average of about 85% of them - more than 450 nests. In 2023, DTEK Grids energy workers plan to reinforce with special platforms at least 35 nests in Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Odesa regions and the city of Kyiv. Over the past 10 years, the company has already installed 533 platforms. 90 of them have been installed over the 16 months of a full-scale war. Installation of special structures for birds’ protection is a continuation of a DTEK policy for sustainable development and implementation of the UN Global Compact regarding preservation of terrestrial ecosystems. According to the ecologists, DTEK energy workers have already helped protect and preserve more than 10,000 white storks over the past 10 years. Besides, such measures help protect customers against power outages caused by falling of nests on the wires.