Abstract
Due to a progressive degradation of natural environment, more and more animal species try to live in the anthropogenic conditions. Some animals are so well adapted to the new conditions that both their populations and areas of occurrence increase. Some bird and bat species that use the building as a place for nesting, breeding and hibernation are good examples of such successful adaptation. In recent years, the old buildings that are full of various cracks and openings attractive to the animals, are intensively renovated and modernized. As a result, birds and bats, although protected by law, lose their habitats and often lives, which in turn threatens a stability of their populations. Therefore, there is a strong drive to protect wildlife species and their habitats in buildings. As a result, standards and practical guidelines have been developed for planning and implementing building renovations, as well as appropriate compensating solutions have been designed for each species. The purpose of this paper is to review basic knowledge and experience in the protection of animals in buildings in towns and cities in Poland. Keywords: bats and birds in buildings, thermal insulation of buildings, protection of bats and birds.
Highlights
Even in the 1990s the landscape of Polish cities was dominated by the apartment blocks built of concrete slabs and old, often pre-war residential buildings
In Olsztyn the effectiveness of compensation for Swift was reported at zero [9]. This could be caused by mistake made by ornithologists who recommended the wrong placement for the boxes, for example too far from the previously occupied habitat. Such errors have been reported in Zielona Góra, where the nesting boxes for swifts were hung on the chimney wall less than 1 m above the roof (Fig. 10), while minimum of 5 m over the horizontal surface is recommended for this species
The Polish law requires a building owner to carry out the renovations in accordance with the principles of environmental protection and perform compensation for destroyed animal habitats, the knowledge, understanding and respect for the law among building owners and managers is still insufficient
Summary
Even in the 1990s the landscape of Polish cities was dominated by the apartment blocks built of concrete slabs and old, often pre-war residential buildings. Their poor construction design and advanced age has been the main reason for the large energy losses and high operating costs, especially during winter months. Sealing or blocking unwanted holes, slots and openings in renovated buildings have been resulting in large losses of natural habitats for birds [3, 23], and bats [22] During the renovations these habitats are destroyed [22], and the animals thrown out of the occupied areas or sometimes walled up alive [28], resulting in the declines of their populations [5–9, 11, 26, 29].
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