PAINTED STORK (Mycteria Leucocephala)
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CONSERVATION PLAN FOR INDIAN PEAFOWL (Pavo cristatus) & PAINTED STORK (Mycteria leucocephala) PREPARED FOR GALLANTT METAL LIMITED LOCATION: -AT SURVEY NO. 175/1, VILLAGE – SAMAKHIYALI, TEHSIL - BHACHAU, DISTRICT – KUTCH (GUJARAT) PREPARED BY: ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT ENKAY ENVIRO SERVICES PVT. LTD., JAIPUR Accredited EIA Consultant Organization by NABET, QCI, New Delhi at S. No. 41 (MoEF&CC) List of Accredited EIA Consultant Organizations (as on April 05, 2018). Validity: -Up to 28.05.2018 Corporate Office: -# 92 Heera Nagar - A, Near Shalimar Bagh, Ajmer Road, Jaipur (Raj.). - 302 021 Phone: - 0141-2354997, 2353996, Fax No.: - 0141 – 4026996 Email: - [email protected], Website: - www.enkayenviro.com FUNCTIONAL AREA EXPERT (NABET/QCI APPROVED): DINESH BOHRA CONSERVATION PLAN FOR INDIAN PEAFOWL (Pavo cristatus) AND PAINTED STORK (Mycteria leucocephala) TABLE OF CONTENT Sr. No Particulars Page No 1 INTRODUCTION 2 2 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY AND SCOPE OF 2 THE WORK 3 AREA DESCRIPTION 3 4 SAMPLING METHODOLOGY 4 5 SURVEY TECHNIQUES 7 6 LAND USE OF THE AREA 7 7 FOREST IDENTIFICATION 8 8 EXISTING IMPACTS & MITIGATION 10 9 CONSERVATION PLAN FOR INDIAN 19-28 PEAFOWL (PAVO CRISTATUS) 10 CONSERVATION PLAN FOR PAINTED 29-38 STORK (MYCTERIA LEUCOCEPHALA) 1 | P a g e CONSERVATION PLAN FOR INDIAN PEAFOWL (Pavo cristatus) AND PAINTED STORK (Mycteria leucocephala) 1.0 INTRODUCTION Gallantt Metal Limited (GML) is a large scale existing industrial unit which is situated at Survey No. 175/1, Village - Samkhaiyali, Tehsil- Bhachau, District - Kutch, Gujarat. The proposed expansion is for manufacturing- Sponge Iron, M.S. Billets, TMT Bars, M. S. Rolled Bar, Runner & Raiser and Captive Power Plant & WHRB. The proposed expansion is coming up within existing plant area 116.0 Acres (4, 73,325Sq.m). No additional land is required for the proposed expansion N E Latitude 23°19’4.47” N Latitude 23°19’2.33” N Longitude 70°29’10.21” E Longitude 70°29’10.21” E S W Latitude 23°18’33.97” N Latitude 23°18’32.58” N Longitude 70°29’28.95” E Longitude 70°29’41.87” E 2.0 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY AND SCOPE OF THE WORK As per ToR issued by committee of MOEF&CC the purpose of the study and scope are as follow: Reconnaissance survey of the study area i.e 10 km radius from the project site To prepare digital maps by plotting all the sightings of species in various Schedules based on the priorities and conservation targets with regards to the proposed project To identify faunal diversity based on the survey To identify the available Schedule-I species within 10 km radius of the project boundary To predict environmental impact on schedule-I animals To prepare conservation plan for schedule-I animals found in the study area. Submission of conservation plan to the Forest department for review and approval. 2 | P a g e CONSERVATION PLAN FOR INDIAN PEAFOWL (Pavo cristatus) AND PAINTED STORK (Mycteria leucocephala) 3.0 AREA DESCRIPTION The project study area was delineated into two zones for biodiversity inventory. The existing project site boundary was considered as Core Zone, while, the area encompassing 10 km radius from the periphery of the project boundary was designated as Buffer Zone. To make inventories of floral and faunal components, the project area was categorized mainly in to three habitat types such as: Forest Habitat (FH), Riverine Habitat (RH) and Agricultural Habitat (AH). Field survey was carried out in all the three major habitat types covering both core and buffer zones. Table 1: List of water bodies S. No. Particulars Distance (Km) Direction (From Project Boundary) Water Bodies 1. KARA VOKRA 7.60 WSW 2. GUPT NADI 4.50 SW 3. AMLIYARA NADI 8.15 S 4. VANGO NADI 10.45 SE 5. KHARI RIVER 9.82 E 6. PIPLA TALAV 6.06 E 7. BABUDI NADI 13.50 E 8. ADHOI NADI 2.80 N 9. GORASAR TALAV 4.50 SSE Source: All distances are taken with respect to Google Earth. Table 2: List of Highway/Railway station S. No. Particulars Distance (Km) Direction (From Project Boundary) 1. NH-8A 750 m S 2. NH-15 2.90 E 3. SH-42 13.62 W 4. Railway Station- Samkhaiyali 1.04 SE Source: All distances are taken with respect to Google Earth. 3 | P a g e CONSERVATION PLAN FOR INDIAN PEAFOWL (Pavo cristatus) AND PAINTED STORK (Mycteria leucocephala) Fig: 1: Map showing study area 4 | P a g e CONSERVATION PLAN FOR INDIAN PEAFOWL (Pavo cristatus) AND PAINTED STORK (Mycteria leucocephala) 4.0 SAMPLING METHODOLOGY As a first step, our team members had discussions with the officials of project proponent and local forest officials about the broad idea of what the study team would intend to do at project site, this helped our team to gather more information in terms of what the local stakeholders perceived about the project and how they wanted this whole project to shape up in order to achieve the targets. Secondly, the study team prepared digital maps by plotting all the sightings of species in various Schedules based on the priorities and conservation targets with regards to the proposed project. The company may encourage local conservation in carrying out studies in the core zone for peafowl. Thirdly, our team has selected a list of species as focal conservation targets to be undertaken by proponent. Through there are many species such as Indian peafowl and leopard coming under the Schedule-I of the Indian wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, we have selected only a few species as because by conserving these flagship species, possibly we can conserve other dependent species. Entire area has been selected as one big target area within it all these species either reside permanently or visits only during certain part of the year(for example migratory season birds).The whole area (within 10 Km radius) has a variety of habitats from scrub forest, wetlands, rivers to dry-deciduous forest having set of species. I. Flora Floral status was assessed in different habitat types and project site of the study area. Quantitative data was collected using standard quadrate method followed by Mueller-Dombois and Ellenberg 1967, Kershaw, 1973. Floral enumeration was done following standard sampling techniques. Random quadrates were laid in order to quantify the vegetation of the study area. Quadrate size for trees was 10 x 10 m, for shrubs it was 5 x 5 m and for herbs it was 1 x 1m. Plots of 1 x 1 m were laid within the tree quadrate at each corner to record grasses. In each of the quadrates, species and their number were recorded. 5 | P a g e CONSERVATION PLAN FOR INDIAN PEAFOWL (Pavo cristatus) AND PAINTED STORK (Mycteria leucocephala) II. Fauna Avifauna: Standard methods were followed to survey the avifauna. The point count method was followed for counting the birds. Opportunistic surveys were also carried out with respect to avifaunal checklist. Identification by calls was also made for species which were not directly encountered or were hidden in the vegetation or canopy (Sridharan 1989, Bhupathy 1991, Bibby et al., 1992 and Hutto et al., 1986). Herpetofauna: Area searches were done in the circular plots of 10 m radius to inventory all terrestrial habitats for reptiles and amphibians. Area searches consisted of turning cover objects like logs, boulders etc (Welsh, 1987).Sampling for these species involved capturing individuals by hand or observation through binoculars and aural surveys. Mammals: Presence of mammals was documented by using both direct and indirect evidences. Opportunistic sightings were also included. Circular Plots were used to search indirect evidence i.e. animal burrows / holes, scat, pellets, feeding signs, and tracks. Photographic (colored pictorial guide) field guide were used for interviews with local residents (Burnham et al. 1980, Rodgers 1991, Sale and Berkmuller, 1988, Daniel, 1992) Table: 3: Methods used for study of flora & fauna Taxa Sampling Methods Plants Inventorization and quadrate sampling Butterflies Visual encounter survey (search) Amphibians Visual encounter survey (search) Reptiles Birds Point count, opportunistic observation Mammals Tracks and signs, and visual encounter survey 6 | P a g e CONSERVATION PLAN FOR INDIAN PEAFOWL (Pavo cristatus) AND PAINTED STORK (Mycteria leucocephala) 5.0 SURVEY TECHNIQUES The visual encounter survey (VES) technique was used. The VES technique involves walking through the study site systematically searching for animals during a given time period. No Time Constrained Studies (TCS) were utilized and hence a varied amount of time was spent at the sites based on species diversity. Micro-habitats studied included terrestrial, arboreal and aquatic during the study. Given the elusive nature of animals, VES techniques are very effective to estimate the species richness. However, species counts of animals are very difficult, given the terrain and nocturnal habits of many species. 5.1 Equipment used Measuring tape and Vernier calipers for measurements and a Nikon camera for photography and binocular for assessment of animal from safe distance. 5.2 Visibility of the study The study team has conducted these surveys mainly to ascertain the occurrence of flora and fauna in the study area. As there are three/two/one protected areas in the vicinity of project site, the expert team studied the biodiversity associated with these areas. During our course of survey the expert team had meetings with the local forest officials at Chittorgarh to know about the species composition besides getting to know the details of management options currently practiced by the forest department. 6.0 LAND USE OF THE AREA The following land use classes have been observed in the study area:- S. No. Class Area (Sq.m.) Area (%) 1. PROJECT AREA 469957 0.149592 2. HABITATION 5155639 1.641091 3.