RANOBE MINE PROJECT, SOUTHWEST REGION, MADAGASCAR VOLUME 9: FAUNAL BASELINE ASSESSMENT Prepared for: Prepared by: World Titanium Resources Ltd Prof. William R. Branch 15 Lovegrove Close, Bayworld Mount Claremont P.O. Box 13147, Western Australia Humewood 6010 Port Elizabeth 6013 South Africa January 2013 Faunal Baseline Assessment – January 2013 This Report should be cited as follows: Branch, W.R., January 2013, Toliara Sands Project - Faunal Baseline Assessment (Update of 2007 Report), prepared for Coastal and Environmental Services, Grahamstown. Coastal & Environmental Services i Ranobe Mine Project Faunal Baseline Assessment – January 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION Project Background World Titanium Resources Ltd (WTR) proposed Mine Site plans to mine the Ranobe mineral sand deposit for the heavy minerals ilmenite, rutile and zircon. These minerals will be extracted with dry mining operation. This report: 1. Comment on current trends and changes in faunal biodiversity, by reviewing available literature to update the 2007 report. 2. Specifically assesses the impacts of the revised project including the haul road options, the pipeline options and the jetty, on local fauna. METHODOLOGY No fieldwork was involved and Branch (2007) forms the primary data for this review, upgraded by reference to subsequent published literature and to online sources to produce a stand-alone report. Species of Special Concern (SSC) included sensitive species (e.g. endemic), threatened species (listed in the IUCN Red Lists), and species in International Trade (CITES). This updated assessment is based only on published data. Potential threats associated with the current land use as well as the direct impacts from mining and product transport and the MSP location have been assessed. FAUNAL DIVERSITY National Biodiversity Madagascar is one of eight important global biodiversity hotspots owing to its unique biota and the high degree of threat to its natural habitats. Despite tremendous biological interest, knowledge of the faunal biodiversity in the region is still hampered by unresolved taxonomic problems and poor sampling. Knowledge of its full faunal diversity remains poorly documented, even in relatively well- known regions. Regional Biodiversity The Madagascar spiny thickets or spiny desert of southern Madagascar is a globally distinctive ecoregion with the highest proportion (95%) of plant endemism in Madagascar. The forests are rapidly disappearing and becoming fragmented by anthropogenic pressure. Few detailed regional faunal surveys have been published for the region, with inventories available only for the southern Mikea region, the avifauna, herpetofauna and lemurs. Amphibians A total of 238 amphibian species were known from Madagascar at the end of 2007. Recent research suggests that 465 species may be present, an increase of 95%. This makes Madagascar one of the top five countries for amphibian diversity. The Spiny Forest ecosystem falls in a semi- arid region with consequent low amphibian diversity. The richest local amphibian fauna (7 species) occurred in association with patches of riparian forest in the Fiherenana River, with only four species recorded from the Ranobe Lake region. Only two common species have been recorded from the mine site. Coastal & Environmental Services ii Ranobe Mine Project Faunal Baseline Assessment – January 2013 Most amphibians in the Mikea region are wide-ranging species. None are strictly endemic, and only one is considered threatened. The small frog Mantella expectata is Endangered (IUCN) and endemic to a small region in south- western Madagascar. It is usually found around seasonal streams and in wet canyons where it is usually associated with narrow gallery forest. Neither of these habitats occur in the area to be directly impacted by project developments. Reptiles Approximately 92% of the non-marine Madagascan reptiles are endemic to the island. By 2007, around 370 nominal species of reptiles were known from Madagascar. This number continues to grow, and 393 are now known. Even this figure, however, is incomplete, as DNA-barcoding has revealed 41–48 additional undescribed species. Reptiles are an important component of the Deciduous Thicket and Forest fauna. A detailed survey of the Ranobe Forest on the south-eastern shores of Lake Ranobe revealed 59 species (37 lizards, 19 snakes and three chelonians), of which 10 were considered regional endemics. The urban herpetofauna of Toliara includes only nine reptiles. A field survey in the proposed Mine Site area to the east of Lake Ranobe (Branch 2007) revealed 23 lizards. The majority of reptiles in the region are endemic to Madagascar, and 7 are threatened, including three Critically Endangered, another Endangered, and three Vulnerable (Table 1). Two others are Data Deficient and another Near Threatened. Project area Reptiles of Conservation Concern (IUCN Red List 2012) Furcifer belalandaensis Critically Endangered Furcifer labordi Vulnerable Furcifer tuzetae Data Deficient Phelsuma standing Vulnerable Phelsuma breviceps Vulnerable Paroedura maingoka Near Threatened Ebenavia maintimainty Endangered Liophidium apperti Data Deficient Astrochelys radiate Critically Endangered Pyxis arachnoides Critically Endangered Birds The avifauna of Madagascar is relatively depauperate; 283 birds are known from the island, and only 209 are breeding residents of which 50% are endemic. A number of recent important regional surveys have recorded 130 bird species in the project area. In a year-long survey 124 birds were recorded in the Southern Mikea region, of which 99 were recorded from the Ranobe region. A survey of the Ambondrolava mangrove complex north of Toliara recorded 69 bird species. In a multi-seasonal, four site, detailed survey of the PK32- Ranobe proposed protected area 124 species were recorded, including 56 Malagasy endemics and 8 species endemic to the southern eco-region. Bird diversity at each site ranged from 53 to 99, with differences mainly explained by wetland bird diversity. Threatened birds of the wider region include the Endangered Humboldt’s heron, four Vulnerable species (Madagascar Grebe, Madagascar plover, Long-tailed ground roller and Subdesert mesite), and the Near Threatened Madagascar crested ibis. Although many threatened birds are not included in CITES appendices, three non-threatened parrot species are listed on CITES appendix Coastal & Environmental Services iii Ranobe Mine Project Faunal Baseline Assessment – January 2013 II to regulate their trade. Mammals Madagascar has reduced mammal diversity due to high extinction rates during the last 2000 years. Numerous large to medium-sized mammals have become extinct, including about half of the known lemur species. A total of 204 (including introduced species) have been recorded, including 41 mammals since 2000. Lemurs comprise the most speciose group of mammals. In the Southern Mikea region 32 mammals have been recorded, including the introduced species. With the exception of a few larger lemurs, the surviving mammal fauna in the region is mainly small, cryptic and nocturnal. Only two large true lemurs occur in the Toliara Region, and nowhere are they now abundant. Although the Ring-tailed lemur was previously (1958) recorded in the PK32 region, this species is now mostly absent and none were seen during the project surveys. A comprehensive lemur survey of the Fiherenana - Manombo Complex revealed the presence of eight lemur species, of which six were only recorded in the riparian and transitional forests of the Fiherenana and Manombo river valleys, while the spiny thicket at Ranobe contained only two mouse lemur (Microcebus species). All larger species had been extirpated by hunting in recent years. Madagascan bats are poorly known, and 10 species were recorded during the Southern Mikea survey, with five occurring around Ranobe. No bat roost sites were recorded along the limestone escarpment edge near Ranobe, although similar caves along the Fiheranana River are known and another roost occurs in the Toliara region. Lemurs are threatened by habitat destruction and poaching for the bushmeat trade, and contain one of the highest levels (91%) of threatened species in the world. All primates are included on CITES Appendix I. During the lemur survey of the PK32-Ranobe Protected Area, 8 species were recorded, including four Vulnerable species. Other threatened mammals in the region include the Trident-nosed bat (Vulnerable), Grandidier’s mongoose (Endangered) and the Narrow-striped Mongoose (Vulnerable). None of these species have been recorded in the project area. SENSITIVE HABITATS The Spiny Forest Ecoregion in southwestern Madagascar is a priority ecoregion. In the Ranobe Forest bands of different habitats lie roughly parallel to the coastline and the calcareous inland plateau. The area is considered of high biodiversity and an important wildlife corridor. Forested habitats, i.e. dry deciduous forest, riparian forest, and Spiny forest, contain the greatest vertebrate faunal diversity. The conservation of forested habitats is a priority as they are subject to the greatest anthropogenic threats (slash-burn agriculture and charcoal production). Bat roosts include caves and tree cavities. Registering of bat roosts, particularly caves, is an important step for bat conservation, and the Sept Lacs site near Toliara (23°30’29.1”S, 44°09’46.3”E, 150 m.a.s.l) should be registered and protected from development. PROTECTED AREA NETWORK National In 2002 Madagascar had 46 legally protected areas