Sunday 2 April 2023

Ecological critique of Caurem mining EIA report

The quadrats studied for the core area (lease area) covering 70.20 ha are 8 and for the buffer area (within 10 km) covering 179 km2 of dense forest are only 11, which means the quadrats studied for sampling are inadequate compared to the area. It will miss out on important species in the places that are not studied.

The tables showing plant and animal species inventories in tables 3.27 and 3.28 are quite low compared to such a large geographic area.

In Fig. 2.2, it is shown that Village Colomba is also included in the 10 km buffer zone known for the endemic Goa Dipcadi goaense, which is not listed in the plant species inventory, which clearly shows that plants are not studied during the monsoon season and subsequently will miss out on plateau vegetation.

Not a single Ambhibian is noted in the lease area of 70.20 ha. in spite of having water bodies.

And the same applies for Reptiles and mammals.

It should be noted that amphibian diversity is specially studied during the monsoon, as they show maximum activity during the rainy season.

Being that Goa is a part of the Western Ghats, with its rich biodiversity of plant and animal species, it is surprising and suspicious to have such a small number of species in both the lease and buffer zone.

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