Over time it has become a strong tradition: From June 14th – 17th 2018, representatives of the European Stork Villages met for the 15th time. Hosts of this year’s stork village conference were the stork community of Altreu in Switzerland.

More than fifty stork conservationists from 13 countries assembled in Altreu over four days in the middle of June to discuss steps to further advance the cause of stork conservation in Europe. As always, the emphasis was on measures for their preservation and for the restoration of suitable habitats. In this context, delegates presented several projects from their communities, which they had implemented within the framework of the programme “Wet Meadows and Pastures” promoted by EuroNatur.

One further important theme also featured, namely, the development and promotion of a sustainable rural tourism. Representatives of the various stork villages engaged in lively debate on this theme, and also benefited from further advice from an outside expert. For the first time at a stork village conference, the agenda included the theme of mortality from collisions with power lines and electrocution on pylons. Nearly all the stork communities are able to report such tragic incidents. There was an in-depth exchange of ideas on measures to prevent fatalities amongst these elegant birds.

 
Background Information:
Since 1994 EuroNatur has been conferring the honour of “European Stork Village” on those villages which host a large colony of storks and make outstanding contributions to stork conservation. Every year, representatives of the stork villages meet in one of the communities to discuss white stork conservation measures.