Wind Energy and Wildlife Impacts

Abstract

We are very pleased to introduce the proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Wind energy and Wildlife impacts (CWW 2017), held on 6–8 September 2017, at the Centro de Congressos do Estoril, Portugal. Wind power can be used in many ways and has several known advantages. It is renewable, does not involve carbon emissions, minimizes overdependence on traditional sources of electricity, and has domestic potential, among other important gains. However, the potential for impacts on wildlife is still a reality with potential to affect populations of many species, due to habitat loss and fragmentation, disturbance, nonnative invasive species, and increased mortality by direct collision. Hence, today’s challenge is still to maximize wind energy’s benefits while minimizing the risk to wildlife. Aiming toward this goal, the International Conference on Wind energy and Wildlife impacts (CWW) gathers experts from all over the world aiming to promote the international cooperation among academics, researchers, and professionals, which, over the years, have contributed to building knowledge on this topic. CWW started in 2011 being held since then biennially. The event has been continuously growing, and at the conference, in 2017, held at Estoril, Portugal, there were 136 presentations, 19 exhibitors, and over 340 registered participants, from 30 different countries all over the world. Oral conference presentations were organized in 15 parallel sessions, covering subjects related to species behavior (off- and onshore), fatality assessment, species fatality and vulnerability, mitigation, impact monitoring and risk assessment, planning and policy, population impact modelling, ecosystems and holistic approaches, and tools and technology. Conference program also included two sessions devoted to poster presentations. These proceedings volume provide a record of what was presented at CWW 2017. It contains 13 papers covering the subjects from both oral and poster presentations. Many people have contributed to the organization of CWW 2017. We are most grateful to all members of the Organizing Committee that worked thoroughly for the success of this event and of the Scientific Committee for their commitment in supporting scientifically the event. We are also grateful to all keynote speakers. Finally, we acknowledge all the participants on the panel discussion, as well to all speakers for their presentations and contributions to the conference.