Heritage & Vegetation Summary – May 2013

PROPOSED REHABILITATION OF NATIONAL ROUTE R61 SECTION 7 FROM BAZIYA TO ,

HERITAGE AND VEGETATION SUMMARY

May 2013

Coastal & Environmental Services EAST LONDON 2 Marine Terrace, Hampton Court East London, 5201 043 742 3302 Also in Grahamstown and www.cesnet.co.za

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Coastal & Environmental Services R61 Baziya to Mthatha Road Upgrade

Heritage & Vegetation Summary – May 2013 1 INTRODUCTION

The South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) is proposing to upgrade a 34km section of the National Road (R61) between Baziya and Mthatha in the Eastern Cape Province (Figure 1.1). Gibb has been appointed by SANRAL as the project managers who subcontracted Coastal & Environmental Services (CES) as the Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP). The proposed project includes the widening of the existing road cross-section for climbing lanes, widening of the existing road reserve from 32m to 50m wide, strengthening of existing pavement, rehabilitation or reconstruction of major drainage structures and bridges, and the improvement of a section of the road from a single carriageway into a dual carriageway.

Figure 1.1. Location of the proposed upgrade of the R61 between Baziya and Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. The darkened red line indicates the affected road.

2 VEGETATION

2.1 SANBI Vegetation (Mucina and Rutherford, 2006)

According to SANBI (Mucina & Rutherford, 2006), 95% of the vegetation falls under the Grassland biome with Mthatha Moist Grassland (Gs14) as the dominant vegetation type with small interspersed portions of the Drakensberg Foothill Moist Grassland (Gs10) (Figure 2.1).

Mthatha Moist Grassland (Gs14)

This vegetation type is characterised by undulating plains and hills supporting species-poor, sour, wiry grassland with Eragrostis plana and Sporobolus africanus, although in good condition, it is more likely to be dominated by Themeda triandra. Mthatha. Moist Grassland is considered Endangered by SANBI. More than 40% has been transformed for cultivation and plantations or by dense rural human settlements.

Drakensberg Foothill Moist Grassland (Gs10)

Coastal & Environmental Services ii R61 Baziya to Mthatha Road Upgrade Heritage & Vegetation Summary – May 2013 The vegetation type is moderately rolling and mountainous, much incised by river gorges of drier vegetation types and by forest, and covered in forb-rich grassland dominated by short bunch grasses including Themeda triandra and Tristachya leucothrix. Drakensberg Foothill Moist Grassland is considered Least Threatened

Figure 2.1: SANBI vegetation map of the region shows the proposed R61 upgrade (indicated in red) falls into Mthatha Moist Grassland (Gs14) and Drakensberg Foothill Moist Grassland (Gs10).

2.2 Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan (ECBCP)

The main outputs of the ECBCP are "critical biodiversity areas" or CBAs, which are allocated the following management categories:

CBA 1 = Maintain in a natural state (also called BLMC 1) CBA 2 = Maintain in a near-natural state (also called BLMC 2)

The ECBCP maps CBAs based on extensive biological data and input from key stakeholders. Although ECBCP is mapped at a finer scale than the National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment (Driver et al., 2005) it is still, for the large part, inaccurate and "course". Therefore it is imperative that the status of the environment, for any proposed development MUST first be verified before the management recommendations associated with the ECBCP are considered (Berliner and Desmet, 2007). It is also important to note that in absence of any other biodiversity plan, the ECBCP has been adopted by the Provincial Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs (DEDEAT) as a strategic biodiversity plan for the Eastern Cape.

Parts of the areas surrounding the proposed R61 upgrade fall under CBA 2 (or BLMC 2), which is classified as “near natural landscapes” (Figure 4.2). Recommended land use management involves maintaining biodiversity in near natural state with minimal loss of ecosystem integrity. No transformation of natural habitat should be permitted.

The proposed road upgrade also passes through areas falling under CBA 4 (or BLMC 4), classified as “towns & settlements” and “cultivated land”. Recommended land use management involves managing the environment for sustainable development.

Coastal & Environmental Services R61 Baziya to Mthatha Road Upgrade

Heritage & Vegetation Summary – May 2013 It is important to note that there are no areas of HIGH conservation value identified in term of ECBCP.

Figure 2.2: ECBCP map indicating the route (with a black line) of the proposed R61 upgrade.

2.3 Conclusion

Although the dominant vegetation type present onsite (Mthatha Moist Grassland) is classified as “ENDANGERED” by SANBI, most of the affected vegetation is highly impacted by human activities and not considered as ‘pristine’. It is however recommended that construction activities in identified sensitive CBA areas (CBA 1&2 as per ECBCP) be minimised to the road reserve to minimise impacts on these sensitive biodiversity areas.

Various wetlands and rivers transect, or are located within 500m of the R61 between Baziya and Mthatha. All water bodies (wetlands, rivers, streams and drainage systems) are considered as highly sensitive and require mitigation to minimise construction and operation impacts on them. As per the National Water Act (No 36 of 1998) and managed by the DWA, any affected water body impacted by the proposed road upgrade will require GA’s from the DWA. Any activity taking place within 500m of the edge of a wetland will require a full WUL from the DWA.

The surrounding environment consists largely of individual villages interspersed with crop fields (subsistence farming). The Nduli Nature Reserve borders the R61 close to Mthatha and is considered as highly sensitive.

The following issues were identified in this section:

ISSUES IDENTIFIED RECOMMENDATIONS IMPACT Loss of plant SSC The road reserve must be surveyed HIGH prior to construction in order to locate and transplant all SSC into the neighbouring undeveloped environment. A Plant Rescue & Protection Plan must be implemented and managed.

Coastal & Environmental Services R61 Baziya to Mthatha Road Upgrade

Heritage & Vegetation Summary – May 2013 Loss of animal SSC The development area must be HIGH surveyed prior to topsoil removal in order to locate and capture any animal SSC and relocate them. Loss of endemic Aloe ferox on All aloes (protected AND non- MODERATE the ridges surrounding the protected species) impacted by the Nduli Nature reserve proposed R61 upgrade must be relocated and transplanted outside the development footprint. Wetland ecosystems may be The proposed R61 upgrade should HIGH damaged during construction not impact on any wetlands and they should be conserved. If unavoidable, the relevant permits must be obtained from the DWA. Riverine ecosystems maybe The impact on rivers and streams HIGH damaged during construction must be kept to a minimum. The relevant permits must be obtained from the DWA prior to construction of any bridges/culverts in these rivers/streams. Disturbance to pristine Construction activities must be MODERATE biodiversity of the Nduli Nature limited to the designated Reserve development footprint (road reserve). No construction activities will be allowed to take place within the nature reserve. Development takes place in a No construction activities must take MODERATE sensitive area as described in place outside the road reserve (eg. the ECBCP. Work camps & construction camps) within these sections Loss of indigenous vegetation Development in grassland MODERATE (Drankensburg Foothill Moist vegetation areas will require specific Grassland and Mthatha Moist mitigation to reduce the impact on Grassland) the vegetation. Permits from DAFF will be required before construction. Re-vegetation of impacted areas must be undertaken after the construction of the road upgrade. Soil erosion and sedimentation Access roads should avoid crossing HIGH wetlands, drainage lines and rivers. Any development within 32m of any water body will require authorisation from DWA. Invasion of alien species An alien removal plan must be MODERATE implemented and run during construction

Coastal & Environmental Services R61 Baziya to Mthatha Road Upgrade

Heritage & Vegetation Summary – May 2013 3 HERITAGE

Umlando was contracted by Coastal Environmental Services to undertake the heritage survey of the proposed project. The survey was undertaken in February 2013 and several heritage sites were noted.

The desktop survey noted that at least sixty settlements occurred near the R61 between 1969 and 1974. These older settlements could have human graves that have now become invisible. It is suggested that these areas be noted as sensitive areas for potential human remains. The survey located eight heritage sites of which three have known graves. One cemetery will be directly affected by the R61, and the road will need to be re-aligned, or the graves removed. One cemetery contains six graves and these will need to be relocated, or the road will need to be re-aligned.

3.1 Management Plan

Most of the sites recorded during the survey do not require much, if any mitigation. The main concern is the occurrence of human remains (or graves) that may be exposed during construction.

All graves within 50m of the footprint should be clearly and visibly demarcated before construction phase, to avoid possible damage to the graves. It is also suggest that the line is re-aligned as opposed to removing the graves. The process of grave removals is a complex one that requires community consultation, advertisements, several permits, and finally reburial. Moreover, those graves older than 60 years require a qualified archaeologist to undertake the entire process.

Coastal & Environmental Services 1 R61 Baziya to Mthatha Road Upgrade