Appendix O2 - Biophysical Report.pdf - Zitholele.co.za

February 2011 116 12619Mitigation MeasuresÜÜÜÜÜÜAll construction areas should be demarcated prior to construction to ensure that thefootprint of the impacts are limited (including areas where vehicles may traverse);A suitable seedmix of indigenous plants should be used in all rehabilitation programmes onthe site.All alien invasive species on site should be removed and follow up monitoring and removalprogrammes should be initiated once construction is completeThe sensitive vegetation unit should be avoided and construction limited to 100 m from theedge of the wetlands and streams;Alternative 1 should be considered as the preferred alternative;Adhere to the ESKOM vegetation management guideline.Residual ImpactThe successful implementation of the mitigation measures will ensure that the impact of the powerline is limited to the study area, thereby reducing the cumulative impact to a Moderate impact.Table 12-6: Vegetation Residual-Impact Rating ScaleImpact Significance Spatial Temporal Probability RatingScale ScaleImpact to MODERATE Study Site Long Term Is going to ModerateFlorahappen3 2 4 5 3The residual-impact, as calculated in the table above, will be Moderate, occur in Study sites andwill be Long Term and is going to happen. A rating of 3 is a Moderate impact class.12.1.3 FaunaInitial ImpactAs described in the habitat assessment in Section 5, the site is relatively disturbed with thedisturbed/grazed grassland, the undisturbed/natural grassland and the wetland and riparian zonesthe main habitat still available for fauna. The remaining natural areas did show high speciesdiversity, indicating that the existing impact is quite significant.The current impact on fauna is probably of a HIGH negative significance, affecting the region, andacting in the long-term. The impact has occurred. The impact class is classified as a High impact.ZITHOLELE CONSULTING