The details of the resource inputs and activities involved in the mining projects and the consequent changes that these are likely to bring about in different components of environment, have already been provided in the preceding section. It is understandable that some of the resource inputs and project related activities are likely to have serious ecological impacts on the wolf population in the region.

i) Since wolves currently use all the 3 proposed land lease sites for lignite mining, Land take for combined mine leases of three project equivalent to 6712.46 ha. is a direct spatial impact on the available habitats for wolf populations in the project areas.

(ii) Land locked under waste rock piles and top soil piles is a direct impact on habitat use by the wolves in the region. The area under land lock due to external dumps will be as large as 110.75 ha. in Umarsar, 104.00 ha. in Akrimota and 39.00 ha. in Mata-no-Madh.

(iii) Removal and processing of mined material, transportation of extracted material, back filling of pitted areas are additional physical disturbances that could lead to abandonment of areas by the wolves in the region. There are reported instances of habitat abandonment by species in mined areas (Singh, 1995).

(iv) As such the, heavy seasonal grazing pressure from livestock and fuel wood collection has already degraded some areas of native vegetation. Loss of vegetal cover under mine spoils, clear felling of vegetation for access routes for transportation of mined material and extraction of wood for fuel requirements of labour camps are expected to be addition and undesirable modifications in the habitat parameters.

(v) Increased prey base mortality due to enhanced road traffic, poaching by labour force and contamination of water sources from tailings and leachetes can be also visualised as a direct impact on feeding ecology of wolves.

(vi) Wolves pose severe threat to the local livestock industry and as a result man-wolf conflicts are on the increase in the area. Evidences of attempts to smoke out pups was present near the two dens located in Mata-no-Madh mining area. Loss of some litters and pups are not of grave concern to wolf populations provided recruitment is sufficient to replace adult mortality. Due to a high rate of potential increase wolves are able to cope with high pup losses (Mech, 1970). However, in contrast mining activities in the area will wipe out the entire breeding population of wolves since both the habitat and the food resources of wolves will be eliminated. Influx of people into the area may further aggravate the problems and lead to more frequent man induced destruction of wolf population.

(vii) Influx of people into the mining area, movement and functioning of mining equipment, trucks and earth haulers and bull dozers are likely to pose potential threats to denning and rendezvous sites - a critical habitat requirement for continued survival of wolf populations in the area.

(viii) Currently the only form of transport of lignite from the mine at Panandhro is in transportation by trucks. Several thousand trucks ply each day on the highway of Nakahtrana - Dyapar - Panandhro. Such heavy traffic and associated development along highways forms a biological barrier to most species migration between adjacent populations, effectively fragmenting larger populations. If all the 3 proposed lignite mines become operational this traffic is likely to increase to the order of several magnitudes aggregating the problem further.

(ix) Disturbances associated with displacement of human population from the 22 hutments in the core zone of Umarsar area and 9 hutments in the core zone of Akrimota to the buffer zone areas and an influx of addition population of 1680 representing combined labour force for the three project and their dependents are likely to impact upon the contiguity and the suitability of habitats for supporting wolf populations in the reserved forest areas of the buffer zone.

(x) In absence of detailed studies for evaluating the likely impacts of mining projects on surface and ground water quality, it is difficult to establish quantitative and qualitative changes in the water sources of the project area. Our experience of having undertaken impact assessment of iron ore mining in Singhbhum area do confirm of downstream water quality impairment and siltation of the water courses (Singh, 1995 & 1996). Similar changes in the water quality are also expected to result from mining of lignite. This could be a significant impact in a desert system where water is a scarce resource for wildlife and human population.

(xi) Based on the wildlife census records (1992), Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary has an estimated 77 wolves (Anon., 1996b). This sanctuary forms 1/3rd of the buffer zone of the Akrimota mining project. The fact that the part of the sanctuary representing the buffer zone is a denotified area of the sanctuary as per the Government of India resolution in 1995, does not take into cognizance that the decision of denotification of the sanctuary is still open to debate by naturalists and conservationist at both national and international levels. Even with its present status of denotification, parts of the sanctuary are included in the buffer zone of Akrimota lignite mining project. Lignite mining at Akrimota is to impact the ecological values within the area within the bound of Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary.

(xii) It seems highly unlikely that the native desert floral communities of Kutch will be reestablished in the area within a time frame of 50 years once mining is completed and reclamation phase begins in any given area. With this time frame it is highly probable that several desert faunal species will become locally extinct. Whether recolonization by these species will occur or not depends on 1) continued existence of healthy populations within the close vicinity and 2) the dispersal ability of the concerned species. In case of the wolf recolonization will occur if neighbouring populations survive the next 70 years, since wolves are known to have a good dispersal ability (Mech, 1987). However, in the case of species like the caracal extinction seems inevitable since this population is the only known surviving population in Kutch. It seems unlikely that a healthy population of either wolves or caracal will continue to survive in the region considering the current rate of habitat destruction by the several industrial projects in the area including the proposed lignite mining lease.

(xiii) The operations at Panandhro mine site have demonstrated the nature of impacts on the drainage system of the area. Diversion of the course of river Kali and its blockade in several stretches has been the major impact on the drainage pattern of the project area. A similar kind of situation is likely to arise in the combined area under the three proposed projects. Altered flow, contamination of river and ground water and changes in ground water levels are likely to have serious implication on the ecology of the riparian habitats. Such riparian habitats harbour critical resources for several wildlife species in arid ecosystems. Wolves especially use such habits for lying up sites, denning and rendezvous sites (Jhala, 1991).