BirdLife Offshore Wind and Nature Protection Online Training 2: Impacts of offshore wind on nature and how to avoid and minimise them

Four half-day online workshops were organised by BirdLife – Europe and Central Asia with the support of the VELUX Foundations. These workshops were targeted at NGOs, aiming to build their understanding and capacity to engage on key aspects of offshore wind development with relevance for nature protection. These workshops featured expert speakers on a range of topics including EU policy, ecological impacts and monitoring, tenders/auctions, nature inclusive design, co-use, and decommissioning.

The second workshops from a series of four organised targeting national NGOs, including BirdLife national Partners in EU Member States to build the understanding and capacity to engage on key aspects of offshore wind development with relevance for nature protection.

This session delves into the ecological and social dimensions of offshore wind development. Participants will explore above- and below-water environmental impacts, social acceptability, and the application of the mitigation hierarchy to avoid and reduce impacts from offshore wind. Key topics include maritime spatial planning, wildlife sensitivity mapping, and a case study on how sensitivity mapping informs offshore wind development in the German sea.