APPENDIX G - Specialist reports 1. Appendix G1: Ecological Impact Assessment 2. Appendix G2: Geotechnical Assessment 3. Appendix G3: Heritage Screener ECOLOGICAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT RAMOTSHERE MOILOA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY (RMLM) KORT AND BUITEN STREET RESIDENTIAL EXTENSION, ZEERUST, NORTH WEST ECOLOGICAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT Prepared for: Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality Prepared by: JULY 2019 Ecological Impact Assessment Report REVISIONS TRACKING TABLE CES Report Revision and Tracking Schedule Document Title: Ecological Impact Assessment for the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality (RMLM) Kort and Buiten Street Residential Development, Zeerust, North West. Client Name & Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality (RMLM) Address: Status: Final Issue Date: Mr Aidan Gouws Lead Author: Reviewer: Ms Tarryn Martin and Ms Amber Jackson Study Leader/ Registered Environmental Assessment Practitioner – Approval: No. of hard No. electronic Circulated to Report Distribution copies copies Ramotshere Moiloa Local 1 Municipality Report Version Date 12 July 2019 This document has been prepared in accordance with the scope of CES’s appointment and contains intellectual property and proprietary information that is protected by copyright in favour of CES. The document may therefore not be reproduced, used or distributed to any third party without the prior written consent of CES. This document is prepared exclusively for use by CES’s client. CES accepts no liability for any use of this document other than by its client and only for the purposes for which it was prepared. No person other than the client may copy (in whole or in part), use or [email protected] rely on the contents of this document, without the prior written www.cesnet.co.za permission of CES. The document is subject to all confidentiality, copyright, trade secrets rules and intellectual property law and practices of South Africa. CES Environmental and Social Advisory Services RMLM Residential Development (Kort/Buiten Street) ii Ecological Impact Assessment Report AUTHOR AND SPECIALIST Mr Aidan Gouws, Environmental Consultant and Ecological Specialist Aidan obtained his MSc in Environmental Science (Cum laude) from Rhodes University, having conducted research on the spatio-temporal dynamics of Acacia dealbata invasions and broader land-use and cover changes in the northern Eastern Cape, funded through a study bursary awarded by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC). Prior to this, he obtained his BSc Honours in Geographical and Environmental Sciences (Cum laude) from the University of Pretoria, studying plant ecology and EIA methodology amongst others. He is also member of the Golden Key Honours Society. Aidan joined CES in 2018 and has been involved in several projects, including Basic Assessments, Full Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessments, Environmental Audits and Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) Audits. He works from the Johannesburg office and his interests include the general Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, GIS mapping, ecological studies and the Public Participation Process (PPP). Ms Tarryn Martin, Principal Environmental Consultant and Report Review (Pri.Sci.Nat.) Tarryn holds a BSc (Botany and Zoology), a BSc (Hons) in African Vertebrate Biodiversity and an MSc with distinction in Botany from Rhodes University. Tarryn’s Master’s thesis examined the impact of fire on the recovery of C3 and C4 Panicoid and non-Panicoid grasses within the context of climate change for which she won the Junior Captain Scott-Medal (Plant Science) for producing the top MSc of 2010 from the South African Academy of Science and Art as well as an Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement in Range and Forage Science from the Grassland Society of Southern Africa. Tarryn specialises in conducting vegetation assessments including vegetation and sensitivity mapping to guide developments and thereby minimise their impacts on sensitive vegetation. She has conducted a number of vegetation and impact assessments in South Africa for renewable energy EIAs and assisted with the botanical baseline survey for the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority Polihali Dam. She has also conducted a number of vegetation surveys, to IFC standards, in Mozambique, has also worked on a Critical Habitat Assessment for Sasol in Inhambane Province and has co- designed and implemented the Terrestrial Monitoring Program for Kenmare, MOMA, a heavy minerals mine in Mozambique. Ms Amber Jackson, Principal Environmental Consultant and Report Review Amber is a Principal Environmental Consultant and has been employed with CES for the last 7 years. She has an MPhil in Environmental Management and has a background in both Social and Ecological work. Her undergraduate degrees focused on Ecology, Conservation and Environment with particular reference to landscape effects on Herpetofauna, while her masters focused on the environmental management of social and ecological systems. During her time at CES Amber has worked extensively in South Africa and Mozambique managing a number of Environmental and Social Impact Assessments. Amongst which she has conducted large scale faunal impact assessments in the both South Africa and northern of Mozambique to both national standards and international lenders standards (AfDB, EIB and IFC), alone and assisted by and to Prof Bill Branch. Her interests include, lenders requirements, range CES Environmental and Social Advisory Services RMLM Residential Development (Kort/Buiten Street) iii Ecological Impact Assessment Report limitation, island biogeography, ecology as well as land use and natural resource management. CES Environmental and Social Advisory Services RMLM Residential Development (Kort/Buiten Street) iv Ecological Impact Assessment Report LIST OF ACRONYMS CBA Critical Biodiversity Area CES CES Environmental and Social Advisory Services ECO Environmental Control Officer ESA Ecological Support Area GIS Geographical Information System IAP Invasive Alien Plant IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature NEMBA National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act NWBMA North West Biodiversity Management Act NWBSP North West Biodiversity Sector Plan QDS Quarter Degree Square READ North West Department of Rural, Environment and Agricultural Development RMLM Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality SA South Africa SANBI South African National Biodiversity Institute SCC Species of Conservation Concern TOPS Threatened or Protected Species CES Environmental and Social Advisory Services RMLM Residential Development (Kort/Buiten Street) v Ecological Impact Assessment Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality (RMLM) proposes to facilitate the extension of the residential area on the corner of Kort and Buiten Street – RE Portion 5 of Farm Hazia JP No 240, Zeerust, North West Province. Zeerust is located approximately 70km north-east of Mafikeng, 130km west of Rustenburg and 130km south south-east of Gaborone. The 5.01ha area will be subdivided into approximately 80 stands. Stands will be sold to prospective residents who will then construct their own housing. Adjacent municipal services, including water, electricity, waste removal and roads will be extended into the area. The proposed site is a green field’s site zoned for agriculture and comprised of degraded indigenous vegetation. The clearing of indigenous vegetation and transformation of open space into residential housing requires an environmental licence. The municipality will be responsible for the clearing and pegging of the site, as well as the extension of services. The study area and surrounding areas were described using a two-phased approach. Firstly, a desktop assessment of the site was conducted in terms of current vegetation classifications and biodiversity programmes and plans. Secondly, a site visit was conducted in summer on 18 and 19 February 2019 to assess the site-specific ecological state, current land-use, identify potential sensitive ecosystems and identify plant species associated with the proposed project activities. The site visit also served to identify potential impacts of the proposed development and its impact on the surrounding ecological environment. Using available spatial data it as determined that the project site falls within the Moot Plains Bushveld vegetation type (Mucina and Rutherford, 2012) and within an area classified as an Ecological Support Area (ESA) 1. The ground-truthing assessment determined that the ESA 1 area is comprised almost entirely of highly degraded vegetation and that that the Moot Plains Bushveld vegetation type occurs throughout the site and is considered to be degraded. This vegetation type is characterised by a moderate-to-high degree of degradation due the presence of a site camp for an adjacent development, illegal dumping and intersecting access roads. The site is dominated by a patchy, discontinuously distributed herbaceous understorey of predominantly Eragrostis spp. Other graminoids include Aristida congesta, Heteropogon contortus, Hyparrhenia hirta, Melinis repens, Themeda triandra and Urochloa cf mosambicensis. The woody canopy is limited to a few shrubs (0.8-1.5m) and low trees (3-4m), including Euclea undulata, Searsia lancea, Vachellia karroo and Ziziphus mucronata. There is also a relatively high species richness of wild flowers, including Aneilema aequinoctiale, Arctotis arctotoides, Chlorophytum cooperi, Felicia muricata, Geigeria burkei, Gladiolus pretoriensis, Hibiscus microcarpus, Indigofera cf filipes, Menodora heterophylla, Peliostomum