Endangered species: Cape vultures threatened by wind turbines

The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George has asked for more public input on the announced new criteria for assessing the impacts of wind energy projects on Cape vultures.

The species of bird, also known as Cape griffon, Kransaasvoël or Kolbe’s vulture, is endangered.

Environmental consultants have expressed fears that vultures will collide with the blades of wind turbines situated in their habitat.

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George published his intention to prescribe the protocol under sections 24(5)(a) and (h) and 44 of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998(Act No. 107 of 1998, in the Government Gazette No. 51022 of 8 August 2024.

The act must be read with the Protocol on Avifaunal Species 2 and the site sensitivity verification required.

Specialists raise alarm bells

A 27-page document of comments by environmental consultants and responses to the protocol showed that many experts feel that, through assessment of the impact on the Cape vulture, more needs to be done – and not necessarily by government-appointed personnel.

Environmental consultant Andre van der Spuy writes at length about how “it is a fact that wind energy facilities (WEF) located in vulture habitat are incompatible with vulture preservation and conservation” because of the danger to the birds.

He criticises the department for not looking at land outside of vulture habitats to install turbines and urges an impact study to be done by a vulture specialist or at least an ornithologist as opposed to a general avifaunal specialist or ecologist.

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Another environmental consultant, Albert Froneman questioned how some of the monitoring of the wind speed and vantage points would be done.

Environmentalist Kate Webster thought the 12-month site sensitivity verification was too short to determine the extent of potential collisions of vultures with the turbines.

The South African Wind Energy Association (Sawesa) also requested better monitoring than prescribed by the department.

In-depth investigation, and now the public can respond

The protocol contains the criteria for the specialist assessment and the minimum report content requirements for determining impacts on Cape vultures associated with the development of onshore wind energy generation facilities, where the electricity output is 20 megawatts or more.

The protocol must also be undertaken in combination with the reconnaissance study and pre-application avifaunal monitoring plan required in terms of the Protocol on Avifaunal Species, before commencing with the Cape vulture specialist assessment.

The collision risk potential for Cape vultures identified by the screening tool on the preferred site must be confirmed.

The potential collision of Cape vultures with wind turbines is to be confirmed by undertaking a site sensitivity verification for a period of at least 12 months, with surveys timed to account for as much seasonal variation as possible.

The closing date for public comments is 28 August and interested parties can either email mmasondo@dffe.gov.za or deliver comments by hand to the Environment House on Steve Biko Road in Pretoria.