Special attention is paid to nature conservation

9/11/20 11:55 AM
Birds are taken care of with nests, reptiles and amphibians are moved to shelters, native plants are protected in the project.
Brown kites also nest adjacent to the construction site of the Paks II. investment. It chose the so-called northern refuge as its new home.

Paks II. Ltd. treats nature protection as a priority during the nuclear power plant investment – emphasized CEO István Lenkei. The tasks to be performed prior to the construction of the nuclear power plant are determined by the landscape and nature protection regulations of the environmental license issued for the project. The company entrusted the implementation to MVM ERBE Ltd. As István Lenkei highlighted, the execution of the works is continuous and successful this year, as was the case in previous years. Animals are artificially relocated to specially designated shelters and birds are moved to help them settle in order to allow undisturbed existence for the species and individuals in the area affected by the establishment and to reproduce in the surrounding green areas once the establishment is completed.

In the first half of the year, reptiles and amphibians were also relocated from the so-called island between the inlet and outlet channel, to the southern refuge by specialists. It is also ensured that mammals living here have the opportunity to move to the shelter area when work begins.

The placement of the birds is also effective: the smaller birds have already undergone the second nesting and spawning.

 

The area is rich in bird species - sixty-three of the approximately two hundred bird species that breed in Hungary were observed by experts during field trips in the spring of 2020. Also interesting is the nesting of the brown kite and the hobby falcon, as well as the settlement of the wood owl and the red vulture in the northern shelter area. The observations also cover some of the neighboring areas.

It is gratifying that in the vicinity of the investment area, all three of the declining swallow species in Hungary have been observed, and there are hundreds of colonies of the miller swallow here.

 

This year, in addition to inspecting and, if necessary, repairing previously deployed nests, new ones were also installed. In addition to type B nests suitable for singing birds, a type D nest was laid in the acacia near the dam. At the edge of a small clearing, at a height of six meters, a special nesting box made for owls was installed. Most of the type B nests in the area found an owner, as did type D, where the great tit spent time when the professionals visited.

In addition to the animals, attention is also being paid to the vegetation, and work is underway to stop the scrubbing of the northern shelter area in order to preserve the original, open sand steppe grassland.