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Mammal and Avifaunal Study for Feronia, Yaligimba Oil Palm Plantation

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Mammal and Avifaunal Study for Feronia, Yaligimba Oil Palm Plantation Mammal and Avifaunal Study for Feronia, Yaligimba Oil Palm Plantation High Conservation Value Assessment Project Number: CDC2950 Prepared for: Feronia PHC June 2015 _______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Digby Wells and Associates (International) Limited (Subsidiary of Digby Wells & Associates (Pty) Ltd). Co. Reg. No. 07264148. Henwood House, Henwood, Ashford, Kent, TN24 8DH, United Kingdom Tel: +44 123 363 1062, Fax: +44 123 361 9270, [email protected], www.digbywells.com _______________________________________________________________________________________ Directors: AJ Reynolds, GE Trusler (C.E.O) (South African) _______________________________________________________________________________________ This document has been prepared by Digby Wells Environmental. Report Type: High Conservation Value Assessment Mammal and Avifaunal Study for Feronia, Yaligimba Oil Project Name: Palm Plantation Project Code: CDC2950 Name Responsibility Signature Date Phil Patton Pr.Sci.Nat Report Writer March 2015 Rudi Greffrath Cert.Sci.Nat. Report Review April 2015 Marion Thomas Report Review June 2015 This report is provided solely for the purposes set out in it and may not, in whole or in part, be used for any other purpose without Digby Wells Environmental prior written consent. Digby Wells Environmental i High Conservation Value Assessment Mammal and Avifaunal Study for Feronia, Yaligimba Oil Palm Plantation CDC2950 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Digby Wells Environmental (Digby Wells) has been requested by Feronia PHC (Feronia) to assess its High Conservation Value (HCV) areas within its Yaligimba Concession. This report focuses on the results from the Avifaunal and Mammal Survey conducted in January and Febuary 2015. The approach is based on a specialist conducting a site visit to the area in question in order to identify the receiving environment and bird and mammal species, and in doing so assist in determining the likelihood of Critical Habitat and areas of High Conservation Value occurring within the specified area. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has a surface area of 2,345,410 km², making it the third largest country in Africa. With diverse habitats the country has the highest bird count on the continent. A major part of the country lies in the Congo basin, the ‘cuvette centrale’, a vast depression just 300 m above sea-level and by far the largest drainage basin of the continent. The Yaligimba Oil Palm Concession is located within the Congo Basin in the Equateur Province close to the provincial border with the Orientale Province. This concession area lies within the north-eastern Congolian Lowland Forest, which extends into the southern portion of the Central African Republic (CAR). The vegetation consists of sub- montane rainforest vegetation which includes the Congo River and its tributaries. The protection of biodiversity cannot be viewed as simply the protection of individual species of conservation concern. Effective preservation of biodiversity must focus on the full range of species and habitats, as well as the ecological and evolutionary processes that allow biodiversity to persist over time. Animals cannot survive in the absence of their preferred habitats, nor can species or habitats survive in the absence of the ecological processes which sustain them. Therefore, the approach followed in this study was to identify different habitat types and use these as surrogates to assess the suitability of the habitat for various species. The approach followed is therefore an “ecosystem approach”. Birds and mammals have been viewed as good ecological indicators, since their presence or absence tends to represent conditions pertaining to the proper functioning of an ecosystem. Bird communities and ecological condition are linked to land cover. As the land cover of an area changes, so do the types of birds in that area (The Bird Community Index, 2007). Land cover is directly linked to habitats within the study area. The diversity of these habitats should give rise to many different species. This survey report gives an overview of the species diversity of both avifauna and mammals that are likely to occur, and that have been directly observed within the Yaligimba concession. The results of which will be utilised in the High Conservation Value (HCV) report which will incorporate the broader ecological status including the vegetation, herpetology and the aquatic ecology of the area. A total of 78 species of birds were found within the Yaligimba Concession area over a six day period, of which 13 species are Afro-Palearctic migrants. One species, the African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus), was observed just outside the concession and is listed as a Digby Wells Environmental ii High Conservation Value Assessment Mammal and Avifaunal Study for Feronia, Yaligimba Oil Palm Plantation CDC2950 Vulnerable species according to the IUCN Red List. Due to the limited number of avifaunal surveys having ever taken place within the Yaligimba Concession, or in the near vicinity, three species observed need to have their currently recorded distribution ranges extended. Digby Wells Environmental iii High Conservation Value Assessment Mammal and Avifaunal Study for Feronia, Yaligimba Oil Palm Plantation CDC2950 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Expertise of Specialist ............................................................................................. 1 2 Study Area ........................................................................................................................ 1 2.1 Geography .............................................................................................................. 1 2.2 Climate .................................................................................................................... 3 3 Methodology...................................................................................................................... 3 3.1 Desktop Studies ...................................................................................................... 3 3.2 Field Survey ............................................................................................................ 3 3.3 Mammals................................................................................................................. 4 3.4 Birds ........................................................................................................................ 5 3.5 Red Data faunal assessment................................................................................... 5 4 Study Limitations ............................................................................................................... 6 5 Findings ............................................................................................................................. 6 5.1 Mammals................................................................................................................. 6 5.1.1 Species of Special Concern .............................................................................. 7 5.1.2 Bushmeat and hunting ...................................................................................... 8 5.2 Birds ...................................................................................................................... 13 5.2.1 Habitat and ecology ........................................................................................ 13 5.2.2 Species Richness ........................................................................................... 13 5.3 Field Survey .......................................................................................................... 15 5.3.1 Mammals ........................................................................................................ 15 5.3.2 Avifauna ......................................................................................................... 18 5.3.3 Distribution changes ....................................................................................... 25 5.4 Habitat Types and Associated Species ................................................................. 29 5.4.1 Forest Habitat ................................................................................................. 29 5.4.1.1 Description............................................................................................... 29 5.4.1.2 Typical Species:....................................................................................... 30 5.4.1.2.1 Mammals ............................................................................................. 30 Digby Wells Environmental iv High Conservation Value Assessment Mammal and Avifaunal Study for Feronia, Yaligimba Oil Palm Plantation CDC2950 5.4.1.2.2 Birds .................................................................................................... 30 5.4.2 Riverine Forest, Reedbeds, River bank and Open Water ............................... 31 5.4.2.1 Description............................................................................................... 31 5.4.2.2 Typical Species:....................................................................................... 32 5.4.2.2.1 Mammals ............................................................................................
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