Part 1 – A Rapid Participatory Biodiversity Assessment - IUCN

Existing land-use around areas selected for
plantation
IUCN Rapid Participatory Biodiversity Assessment
establishment of plantation (collect random water
samples from 5-10 localities and measure the
above physico-chemical parameters using a
portable equipment)
Prepare GIS maps of existing land-use in areas
selected for plantation plots and relevant villages
(covering at least a 5km radius around a selected
plot/village); calculate the % cover of primary
forest, homesteads, fallow lands at different time
intervals, production forest, irrigated paddy fields,
streams and rivers etc.)
Status of crop damage by wildlife Annual crop losses due to wildlife damage,
obtained from villagers (through a socioeconomic
survey)
(B) Monitoring indicators for land clearing phase (to be documented within the first 2-3 months
of forestry operations, preferably prior to establishment of plantation seedlings)
Indicators Monitoring technique
Number of native tree species (>50cm GBH) 5
preserved in site cleared for plantationt
Percentage (%) of natural vegetation patches in a
single area cleared for plantation
Species and number of less mobile wild animals
rescued and translocated into wild habitats for a
single plantation plot
Accidental mortality of wild animals (Species and
numbers of amphibians, reptiles, birds and
mammals killed due to land clearing related
accidents)
Rescue of seed and/or propagation material of
rare and /or useful plants
Count the number of trees and their GBH in each
plot cleared (each preserved tree could be
plotted in a 10m x 10m grid map of the plantation
plot); photographs of globally threatened/and or
useful plant species preserved in each plot
GIS techniques (obtain GPS points of the entire
plantation plot; prepare a 10m x 10m grid map;
and then plot the forest patches preserved within
the plot; calculate the % of natural vegetation)
Information maintained by site manager, through
inputs from plantation workers/labourers (and
photographs of such animals)
Direct field observations through line transect
walks across cleared plot, immediately after
clearing operations (and photographs of such
animals)
Native plant nurseries established (number of
species and their individual saplings in each
nursery)
Fire belts established The details (ie., measurements etc.) of fire belts
established around plots (supplemented with
photographs)
Evidence of illegal tree felling and hunting Reliable information from local communities;
direct observations in natural forests bordering
plantation plots
Buffer zones maintained Distance of buffer zones (m) from specific
habitat/land-use types
(C) Monitoring indicators for plantation maintenance phase (initiate after a year of establishing
the plantation seedlings, and repeat annually)
5 The different species of native tree (“above 50cm gbh) and their individual numbers preserved
within a plantation plot is a good indicator of environmental safeguards adopted during the land
clearing phase (especially to highlight measures to reduce impacts on indigenous biodiversity).
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