Table of Contents - SRK Consulting

Limpopo West Mine: Biodiversity and Impact AssessmentDetail whether the mitigation will reduce (or enhance) the intensity of theimpact or the probability of the impact and revise the impact significanceaccordingly;Ensure that mitigation when prescriptive is clear, site specific and practical. Ifthe practicality is less important than preventing the impact then say so;Define associated monitoring requirements viz. that will provide a clearindication of whether the mitigation is effective or not.The ToR, set by the client, specific to the Biodiversity Assessment include: Define the project footprints;Characterise the biodiversity within the footprint area in terms of conservationstatus and importance;Highlight biodiversity systems that exist in the area and that might be affecteddirectly by the loss of the land area;Ascertain for the region, areas of sensitive or conservation worthy biodiversitythat might be affected indirectly by the project;Ensure that the information required to assess indirect impacts is sourced asappropriate from the other specialists;Assess potential toxicological impacts on biodiversity.2.2. Floral AssessmentThe ToR as laid out in the Biodiversity Proposals for flora included the following.Detailed floral investigations will be undertaken within identified habitats and willinclude the following methodologies:Desktop review of available information; Desktop review of applicable legislation; Identification of areas with uniform vegetation structure (utilising 1: 50 000topographical maps and Google Earth TM images); Establishment of sampling plots within each habitat (excluding cultivatedland); The vegetation within each sampling plot investigated in detail. A descriptionof vegetation communities including structure, dominant plant compositionand condition was to be described. In addition the possible occurrence ofendemic, Red Data/threatened species, species with medicinal/cultural valueand alien/invasive species to be recorded; Random transect walks will be undertaken within the area to ensure samplingof less abundant or localised species; Habitats identified on the most recent Google Earth TM Images were to bemapped utilising ArcGis V. 9.3 and in the projection required by Sasol; Identification of Areas of Concern through ranking of each habitat based onconservation importance (in terms of national and provincial biodiversitypriorities) and ecological sensitivity; and Identification of areas, within the region, of sensitive or conservation-worthybiodiversity that might be affected indirectly by the project.3