Scientific Study of Faunal Diversity in The Purposed Mining Area & Scat Analysis

Abstract

Mining industry proves to be an important support to the economy. Government and mining companies ensures smooth running of the industries and also helps to create strong economy and employment.The nature of mining process has created an unavoidable impact on the environment during the mining operations and even years after the closure of the mines which has posed threats to wildlife. The effect of the significant impact is much higher when mining occurs in remote,isolated, environmentally sensitive areas.Due to the exponential increase in demand for minerals, economics related to the mining sector, the depletion of resources in readily accessible areas, and changing technologies , mining has been increasingly proposed in remote and biodiversity-rich ecosystems that were previously undeveloped for minerals. For this purpose, survey of the mining area to study the fauna diversity was conducted for consecutive four seasons. During the study, indirect sign such as scat was recorded and collected. Scats were then analysed visually in order identify the animal species and their feeding habit. Biochemical tests were also performed in order to get the concentrations of carbohydrate, protein, cholesterol and dry ash content in the scat samples so as to understand dietary composition of each species. Finally, mitigation measures have been suggested for preservation of faunal diversity which is to be implemented during mining activity.