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Faunal Baseline and Impact Assessment

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Faunal Baseline and Impact Assessment PORTION 15 OF VERGENOEGD 653: Faunal baseline and impact assessment Report compiled for: Khula Environmental (Pty) Ltd Client: Abenviro (Pty) Ltd Report compiled by: Marius Burger, trading as Sungazer Faunal Surveys Postal address: 6 Putter Street, Lakeside 7945 Phone: 083 231 7452 Email: [email protected] March 2020 Figure 1: A pair of Cape Sand Toads (Vandijkophrynus angucticeps) in amplexus in a seasonal pool near the north-western reaches of the Vergenoegd study area (24 July 2019). IUCN conservation status = Least Concern. VERGENOEGD 653: Faunal Baseline & Impact Assessment (March 2020) Contents 1 ABBREVIATIONS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II 3 INTRODUCTION AND STUDY AREA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 4 TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE FAUNAL BASELINE ASSESSMENT ------------------------------------------ 2 5 TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE FAUNAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT -------------------------------------------- 2 6 STUDY APPROACH AND METHODS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 6.1 Site visits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 6.2 Site visit limitations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 6.3 Other relevant studies ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 6.4 Checklists ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 6.5 Species of conservation concern (SCC) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 6.6 Site importance assessment (SIA) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 7 BASELINE ASSESSMENT RESULTS: HABITAT DIVERSITY AND SENSITIVITY -------------------------------- 5 7.1 General site description ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 7.2 Vegetation ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 7.3 Wetlands ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7 7.4 Critical Biodiversity Areas (CBA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7 7.5 Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 8 BASELINE ASSESSMENT RESULTS: CHECKLISTS AND SPECIES OF CONSERVATION CONCERN ------- 9 8.1 Mammals ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 8.2 Birds ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 8.3 Reptiles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 8.4 Amphibians -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23 9 BASELINE ASSESSMENT RESULTS: SITE IMPORTANCE ASSESSMENT (SIA) ------------------------------ 26 9.1 Mammals ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26 9.2 Birds ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27 9.3 Reptiles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28 9.4 Amphibians -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29 10 BASELINE ASSESSMENT CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ------------------------------------- 30 10.1 Mammals ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 10.2 Birds ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 VERGENOEGD 653: Faunal Baseline & Impact Assessment (March 2020) 10.3 Reptiles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31 10.4 Amphibians -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33 11 DESCRIPTION OF DEVELOPMENT ALTERNATIVES ------------------------------------------------------------- 35 11.1 Development Alternative 2012 (Dev Alt 2012) ---------------------------------------------------------- 35 11.2 Development Alternative 2019 (Dev Alt 2019) ---------------------------------------------------------- 36 11.3 No-development Alternative --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 36 12 ASSESSMENT OF DIRECT IMPACTS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 37 12.1 Negative impacts associated with Dev Alt 2012 and Dev Alt 2019 -------------------------------- 37 12.2 Mitigation measures for Dev Alts 2012 and 2019 ------------------------------------------------------ 37 12.3 Potential benefits for fauna ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 39 12.4 Impact Assessment of the No-development Alternative --------------------------------------------- 39 12.5 Impact Rating Table presenting assessment of negative impacts associated with the construction phase -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40 12.6 Impact Rating Tables presenting the assessment of negative impacts associated with the operational phase --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44 12.7 Impact Rating Table presenting the assessment of faunal impacts associated with the no- development alternative ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 48 13 CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ON FAUNA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 49 14 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 50 15 REFERENCES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 51 16 APPENDIX 1: SEARCH-AND-RESCUE PROTOCOL --------------------------------------------------------------- 53 17 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 54 VERGENOEGD 653: Faunal Baseline & Impact Assessment (March 2020) 1 ABBREVIATIONS ADU Animal Demography Unit BLSA BirdLife South Africa CBA Critical Biodiversity Area CoCT City of Cape Town CTFS Cape Town Film Studios Dev Alt Development Alternative EA Environmental Authorisation EAP Environmental Assessment Practitioner EN Endangered FIAO FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology IBA Important Bird Area IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature KBA Key Biodiversity Area LC Least Concern NE Not Evaluated NT Near Threatened OESA Other Ecological Support Area SABAP2 Southern African Bird Atlas Project 2 SARCA Southern African Reptile Conservation Assessment SCC Species of conservation concern SIA Site importance assessment VU Vulnerable VERGENOEGD 653: Faunal Baseline & Impact Assessment (March 2020) i 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Terms of reference The main aims of the Vergenoegd faunal assessment were to: 1. conduct a baseline study to determine which species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians occur or may occur on the site; 2. highlight the species that are of conservation concern; 3. conduct a faunal impact assessment in the context of two development alternatives, i.e. the approved 2012 alternative and the newly proposed Abenviro 2019 alternative; 4. provide mitigation measures and general management guidelines to limit the negative impacts on the faunal communities. Study approach Three site visits were conducted during 2019 to observe habitat parameters and to survey faunal species. Additional information were gleaned from other relevant reports, literature, database sources and by means of interviews with other faunal experts. Habitat diversity The Vergenoegd property (about 94.2 ha) is homogenously flat with very little topographical variation. The substrate is a mix of sandy and loamy soils, with evidently no rocky protrusions present. Some areas have been subjected to various forms of substrate disturbances, including evidence of historical cultivation, spill-over effects of peripheral construction features (e.g. road building), and dumping of building rubble and refuse. The vegetation is of a mix of semi-natural and natural vegetation, with some patches being significantly transformed by historical livestock grazing and current alien vegetation infestations. The remnant natural vegetation is categorised as being part of the West Coast Renosterveld bioregion and more specifically consisting predominantly of Swartland Shale Renosterveld. The pristine or semi-natural vegetation zones are generally of greater importance to faunal communities than the transformed vegetation areas. The site is also characterised by a prevalence of seasonal wetlands, and these are of significant importance in terms of determining the faunal communities that
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