International White Stork Census
Every 10 years white storks across Europe are counted in an international census, coordinated by our partners in Germany, the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU). 2024 will be the eighth such census. In Romania the International White Stork Census will take place from June 15 to July 15.
White storks are charismatic, well-known and beloved, and the species has often been used as an indicator to highlight environmental problems, particularly wetland loss, changes in agricultural practices, and climate change. Global population trends of white storks have been tracked by regularly conducted international counts since 1934, making the census of this species the oldest international biodiversity monitoring programs.
The Romanian Ornithological Society (SOR) and the Milvus Group- Birds and Nature Protection Association fhave been monitoring this species since 1994, and since 2017 data collection by professional ornithologists or our volunteers is done with the help of the applicationUite Barza! or OpenBirdMaps.
“The white stork census contributes to improving our knowledge of the nesting population of the species in Romania, so that in the long term effective protection measures can be implemented, such as installing nest supports where necessary, both to protect the birds and the electricity network, but also to improve agricultural practices (or preserve traditional ones) to stop the degradation of habitats used by the species or to carry out restoration works”, said Cristian Domșa, coordinator of the census, on behalf of SOR.
“With the data collected through the monitoring program, we could observe a decrease in population in many lowland areas, e.g. in the Western Plain, and in parallel an increase in population in some hilly areas in the foothills of the Carpathians. These changes are most likely due to agricultural practices that are becoming more intensive and unfriendly to nature in the lowland areas, and climate change. Population monitoring is very important to understand the threats faced by the stork population” – concluded Tamás Papp, executive director of the Milvus Group.
In 2014 white storks were surveyed in 48 countries in Europe, North Africa and Asia. Previous international census data were collected by BirdLife International partners, NGOs, scientific institutes and volunteers.
White Storks nest throughout our country, from sea level up to the maximum altitude of 1,100 meters. The national census is carried out in all 3,186 administrative territorial units in Romania. Unlike in previous years, when stork nests were recorded by our volunteers on their occasional trips across the country, this year it will be necessary to systematically visit all localities in order to collect complete data on the number of occupied nests and the number of young in each nest.
We invite all those who love these wonderful birds to take part in this census and to choose the localities where are able to count the storks. Once an administrative territorial unit (commune, town, city) has been chosen, it must be covered completely and systematically (all localities must be checked completely). After registration, volunteers will be contacted by one of the partner organizations (depending on the option chosen). All volunteers will receive training and advice throughout the census and… prizes for the most hard-working volunteers.
We thank the PPC companies in Romania, Distribuție Energie Oltenia S.A., our donors and, most of all, all the volunteers whose involvement makes this activity possible, which is of great importance for the conservation of the white storks in Europe.
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About Romanian Ornithological Society
The Romanian Ornithological Society (SOR) is one of the most active independent bird conservation organizations in Romania. An award-winning NGO, SOR has been working to protect wild birds and their habitats in Romania for over 30 years. Our mission is to ensure that our unique bird populations are protected and that Romania’s wonderful natural places are not exploited and destroyed by damaging developments. We want to inspire people to help protect Romania’s birds and habitats and, with their help, ensure that our future generations enjoy them too
About Milvus Group
Milvus Group is dedicated to the conservation of the natural heritage and carries out conservation and monitoring of endangered species, applied research, awareness-raising and education. Founded in 1991 by a few enthusiastic ornithologists, our NGO has managed over the years to implement major projects that have contributed to the protection of animals and habitats in our country. We have focused for years on the designation of Natura 2000 sites and under the influence of our work, the network of protected areas in Romania today covers 24%. This result, as well as our many other successes, urges us to continue our work to conserve nature.
About PPC
PPC is the largest electricity company in South East Europe, with activities in power generation, distribution and sales as well as advanced energy services in Greece, Romania and North Macedonia. PPC has a total installed capacity of 10.8 GW, consisting of thermal and hydro power plants, as well as renewable energy facilities generating in total, on an annual basis, approximately 20 TWh. The total regulated asset base of the distribution networks in Greece and Romania amounts to approximately EUR 4.3 billion. PPC Group is the main electricity supplier in Greece and Romania, serving approximately 8.8 million customers in total, supplying approximately 33 TWh of energy and a wide range of energy products and services.In Romania, PPC Group companies cover the following areas – electricity supply and advanced energy services, electricity distribution, renewable energy generation and electric mobility solutions. With a customer base of approximately 3 million residential, business and institutional consumers, PPC Energie and PPC Energie Muntenia, are the largest electricity supply companies in Romania. Through their network of 81 modern stores, the companies respond to the needs of today’s energy-saving consumer: efficiency and sustainability. The portfolio of the two companies thus includes value-added products and services that offer customers convenience and security.
The Rețelele Electrice (Electric Networks) companies operate networks with a total length of about 134,000 kilometers in three major areas of the country: South Muntenia (including Bucharest), Banat and Dobrogea, covering one third of the local distribution market, and develop an investment program to improve the quality of service, safety and performance of the networks and local implementation of PPC Group’s environmental standards. The electricity networks operated by the three companies include 289 transformer stations and over 25,000 transformer substations. PPC Renewables has a total installed capacity of about 600 MW of wind and photovoltaic power plants in Romania, of which about 100 MW in photovoltaics and 500 MW in wind, while ongoing projects amount to 5 GW.
About DISTRIBUŢIE ENERGIE OLTENIA S.A.
Distribuție Oltenia, part of the Evryo Group, manages and invests in the distribution network in southern Romania, providing electricity supply to seven counties in the Oltenia and Muntenia region: Argeș, Dolj, Gorj, Mehedinți, Olt, Teleorman and Vâlcea. The company responds to the challenges brought by the evolution of technology and remains a reliable partner for consumers and prosumers. In 2023, Distribuție Oltenia was the distribution operator with the highest number of prosumers connected in Romania, according to ANRE.
