Abstract
The Dutch governmental offshore wind ecological programme (Wozep) was established to expand the knowledge base about how wind farms affect protected species so that it will be possible to arrive at the best possible estimate of the ecological impact during the preparations for new road maps (proposed areas for wind farms in the years to come). A cumulative effect assessment is therefore being made to determine whether the proposed wind farms (and those in place) will have a significant impact on the numbers of the protected birds, bats and marine mammals. The cumulative effect assessment is made with the KEC (Framework for Assessing Ecological and Cumulative Effects). The Wozep research results are used to improve these KEC calculations.
The primary focus of Wozep is on the protected species that are directly affected by the wind turbines. The concerns here are collisions of birds and bats with turbines, birds avoiding the wind farms, the effect of underwater noise on harbour porpoises and seals, and the possible effect of electromagnetic fields around the cables. Secondly, there is research looking at changes in the habitats of marine mammals and birds associated with the arrival of the wind farms. Changes in these habitats (amount of food available, resting place, settlement options for benthos) can also have an effect on the numbers and condition of the animals referred to here. And finally, since 2018, Wozep has also been using models to look at the possible impact of wind farms on physical processes (waves, currents, turbidity, etc.) in the North Sea. These physical processes constitute the basis of the North Sea ecosystem and they affect the food web and ultimately the vulnerable species.
The following are presentations from the Tussenstand Wozep 2019 Meeting.
Waar staat Wozep voor? Introductie Tussenstandbijeenkomst - Ingeborg van Splunder, Kees Borst, Inger van den Bosch, Aylin Erkman, Martine Graafland, Maarten de Jong, Suzanne Lubbe, Maarten Platteeuw, Marijke Warnas – RWS WVL en ZD
Bruinvis strandingen: Patronen in de landen rond de Noordzee - Lonneke IJsseldijk & Mariel ten Doeschate (Universiteit Utrecht)
Ecosysteemeffecten bij grootschalige uitrol windparken op zee - Arjen Boon, Sofia Nunes de Caires, Jan-Joost Schouten, Ine Wijnant, Remco Verzijlbergh, Firmijn Zijl, Sanne Muis, Thijs van Kessel, Tobias van Kooten, Pauline Kamermans and Luca van Duren
Windmolens op zee en habitatverlies: Populatie effecten voor vijf soorten zeevogels - F. H. Soudijn, D. Benden, C. Chun, M. Leopold, I. Tulp, T. van Kooten
Aanvaringen van vogels met windmolens op zee: impact op populatieniveau - Astrid Potiek (Bureau Waardenburg); Project-Team: Astrid Potiek, Mark Collier & Ruben Fijn (Bureau Waardenburg), Hans Schekkerman (Sovon)
Aanvaringen tussen vogels en windturbines op zee: Combinatie van verschillende onderzoeken en sensoren - Suzanne Lubbe, Rijkswaterstaat
Vleermuismigratie over zee en langs de kust - Sander Lagerveld
Van stapel rapporten naar windmolenpark: Het gebruik van kennis - Iov Ministerie van EZK en Ministerie van LNV, Martine Graafland (RWS ZD)
Ecologisch onderzoek wind op zee: Verleden, heden en toekomst - Marijke Warnas, Rijkswaterstaat