Wind farm and bird flu spark fears for threatened species at Ramsar-listed wetlands

A small population of the endangered Australasian bittern inhabits the Glenelg Estuary and Discovery Bay Wetlands in south-west Victoria all year round. The bird, expertly camouflaged amid reed beds and sedgeland, is a highly revered sight among birdwatchers, with fewer than 1,500 birds estimated to remain in the wild across Australia.

Mark Bachmann, ecologist and managing director of the Nature Glenelg Trust, is worried about the threatened bird and bat species inhabiting the wetlands. In winter, the population at the Ramsar-listed site grows when more birds fly hundreds of kilometres south after breeding on the inland rice fields of the New South Wales Riverina.

The bittern, along with the endangered fairy tern, hooded plover and the brolga, which is also at risk from habitat loss in Victoria, are among the species Bachmann holds concerns for amid nearby mass bird flu mortality events and a proposed 105-turbine wind farm.

"The big question … we just don't know which species are most likely to be severely impacted by bird flu," he said.

In August, hundreds of dead and dying birds were found to have contracted H5N1 avian influenza at Portland and the Glenelg River Estuary at Nelson. Bachmann said the "compounding threat" associated with bird flu "presents too much risk for the wind farm project to go ahead".

A final decision on the 600-megawatt Kentbruck Green Power Hub project, which includes turbines up to 270 metres tall, is expected on November 10. The project, proposed by renewable energy developer HMC Capital, has been put forward for commercial pine plantation land between Nelson and Portland.

A spokesperson for the developer said the project's approach was "highly sensitive to the impact on birds" and had undertaken "extensive research" and independent expert investigations to mitigate the risk to birdlife and bat species inhabiting the nearby wetlands.

Among measures taken to placate dissent from community members and environment groups, the developer reduced the number of wind turbines by 33 per cent and agreed to set up a $30 million ecology fund to sponsor ecological studies, protection activities and species recovery projects.

"This is the dilemma of developments like this being placed in close proximity to really biodiverse areas; you just encounter lots and lots of these issues."

Bachmann argued the additional proximity to coastal areas experiencing "more frequent" bird flu cases heightened uncertainty. He said the impending decision on the wind farm would set a national precedent.

"It could either deter development in inappropriate locations, or it could signal that you can pretty much put a wind farm anywhere. There's a lot at stake here."