Wind energy facility threatening Lear’s Macaw suspended

Final week, a federal decide in Brazil suspended all licenses beforehand granted to vitality firm Voltalia to construct a wind energy facility within the habitat of the endangered Lear’s Macaw in northeastern Brazil. In his ruling, the decide stated that these licenses can’t be granted till legally required Environmental Impression Research and Environmental Impression Stories have been accomplished and public hearings have been held. In the meantime, development for the mission has been underway for a number of months, making a collision threat for birds as they fly by way of the realm.

“We applaud the decide’s determination and hope that this results in the mission’s relocation out of Lear’s Macaw habitat,” stated Amy Upgren, American Fowl Conservancy’s director of the Alliance for Zero Extinction.

This determination was prompted by a lawsuit filed by federal and state-level public prosecutors in Brazil final month that asserted the mission’s licenses ought to be nullified as a result of Voltalia had unlawfully proceeded with out an Environmental Impression Evaluation. Native communities have additionally voiced their opposition to the wind mission, most not too long ago in December 2022 in a formal grievance to the United Nations.

Renewable vitality is vitally vital within the battle in opposition to local weather change. ABC advocates for renewable vitality to be positioned in areas the place threats to birds are minimized.

The world the place wind generators have been beneath development is formally acknowledged for its environmental significance as a Key Biodiversity Space and Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) web site. With Brazilian companions, ABC has supported profitable efforts to preserve the Lear’s Macaw within the space for many years, together with the enlargement of the Canudos Organic Station Reserve, which supplies protected habitat for the species. Voltalia’s wind mission poses a critical risk to years of progress towards saving this species from extinction. The latest ruling is a hopeful signal that Lear’s Macaw will have the ability to proceed its path towards restoration.