Wildlife conservation is not just concerned with the protection and management of wildlife species and their habitats in National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. It also involves taking into account, a synoptic view of wildlife resources that exist outside the Protected Areas. Today, when the increasing biotic pressures threaten wildlife and their habitats directly, rapid industrial development and urbanization poses additional threats to the dwindling wilderness species. Construction of mega river valley projects and the establishment of refineries, thermal power stations and nuclear power stations are generally regarded as the superior options to overcome the ever increasing demands for energy and power to promote economic and technological progress. Yet, these developments have not been fully appreciated on the count that these have significantly constrained the efforts of conservation of wildlife species and their habitats. In ecological terms, the direct and indirect impacts of some of the development projects threaten the stability of ecosystems as a result of which the fragile ecosystem that are once destroyed are unable to recover from the impacts or are only partially restored. As is true for most other resources, the natural ecosystem too have limited regenerative and restorative capabilities and therefore their conservation should remain central in the planning of developmental projects.

There are several examples of forests and wildlife habitats being impacted upon by development activities in India. The construction of Bodhghat and Narmada River Valley Projects are likely to the submerge extensive forest areas leading to loss and alteration of wildlife habitats for mammals such as wild buffaloes and wild ass (WII, 1990; Goyal et al. in press). Similarly, construction and operation of Servalar Hydroelectric project in Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve Has impacted upon the endangered Nilgiri lnagur’s habitat (Sunderraj, in prep.).

The elephant population and its habitats in Singhbhum Forest are impacted upon by a large scale mining and resultant pollution of the river (Singh, 1994). Similarly, the operation of 450 mines located in the Sariska Tiger Reserve for extraction of copper, dolomite and marble stones have led to very low ungulate densities in and around the mining areas (Sankar, 1994).

Impacts of construction of refineries, thermal and nuclear power projects on wildlife and their habitats are also fairly well documented. Air pollution due to the existing Anta Thermal Power Station has impacted upon the Great India Bustard habitats in the neighbouring Brahmini Mata Wildlife Sanctuary (Anon., 1989).

Davis (1976) has reviewed the impacts of urban growth, industrial expansion and mineral exploitation upon the country side and their direct effects upon wildlife in Great Britain. Impacts on wildlife species and their habitats from point source projects have been well documented in the West. King et al. (1984) reported pollutants and their levels in white-tailed deer near uranium mines in Texas. Van Waggonner (19780 reported impacts of mining and reclamation on small mammals and their habitat. Allaire (1978) reported an overall decline of population density of singing male birds by 39% and impact on nesting birds near an active strip mine site. Matter et al. (1978) have reported sustained impacts of abandoned surface mines on fish and benthic fauna in south west Virginia.

The rates of energy consumption in the world have increased almost 600% between 1900 and 1965 and is projected to increase by 450% by the year 2000 (Al-Hinnawi and Hashmi, 1982). In India, development of energy generation has gone up from 1,700 MW in 1950 to over 6,700 MW till today. Coal, oil and natural gas are the three major forms of fossil fuels. Their exploration, production and transportation are likely to cause environmental impacts of varied nature. An assessment of the environmental impacts of industrial expansion and upgradation has therefore become a mandatory requirement for environmental clearance of such projects by Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India, formulated the Guidelines for Siting of Industries (Anon., 1984) with specific objectives to ensure an optimum use of natural and man made resources in a sustainable manner with minimal depletion, degradation and destruction of environment. The Guidelines for Siting of Industries lays down the areas of concern with respect to ecological sensitivity of the areas. As per the Guidelines (Anon., 1984) ecologically sensitive areas are defined as areas that are included under, i) Religious and Historic Places, ii) Archeological Monuments; iii) Scenic Areas; iv) Hill Resorts; v) Beach Resorts; vi) Health Resorts; vii) Coastal Areas rich in Corals, Mangroves, Breeding Grounds of Specific Species; viii) Estuaries rich in Mangroves, Breeding Grounds of Specific Species; ix) Gulf Areas; x) Biosphere Reserves; xi) National Parks and Sanctuaries; xii) Natural Lakes and Swamps; xiii) Seismic Zones; xiv) Tribal Settlements xv) Areas of Scientific and Geological Interest; xvi) Defense Installations, specially those of security importance and sensitive to pollution; xvii) Border Areas (International) and xviii) Air Ports.

Consideration of impacts of development projects on terrestrial and aquatic wildlife habitats for better wildlife management and conservation is within the purview of the Wildlife Institute of India. This report therefore, considers all natural systems in the proposed project area and those in its vicinity for assessment of project impacts.

The above study is a step in the direction towards providing an environmental appraisal prior to the initiation of activities under proposed development and also in outlining the statutory obligations that would be required to be fulfilled by the project proponents.

• Proposed Project
   

• Scope of Work