Baseline Impact Assessment Studies on Flora & Fauna around Goa Industrial Development Corporation ( GIDC ) , Goa Zone

© The Author (s). 2018 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This study projected for environmental impact driven by the pharmaceutical activity on regional biological environment quality. This Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study based on one season primary environmental quality data, environmental impact statement based on the identification, prediction, and evaluation of impact. Detailed studies were carried out about biological components of the environment in the study area of 7 km radial distance from Usgaon as a central point. The paper is dealing with, Study of the biological environment includes the topography, the vegetation type and the flora and fauna of the region along with crops for prediction of impacts due to the existing pharmaceutical effluents and bulk drugs at Marvasodo, Usgaon, and Phonda (Goa).


INTRODUCTION
The Indian Pharmaceutical Industry today is in the front rank of India's science-based industries with wide ranging capabilities in the complex field of drug manufacture and technology (Kumar & Sharan, 2013).A highly organized sector, the Indian Pharma Industry is estimated to be worth $ 4.5 billion, growing at about 8 to 9 percent annually.It ranks very high in the third world, in terms of technology, quality, and range of medicines manufactured.The Indian Pharmaceutical sector is highly fragmented with more than 20,000 registered units.It has expanded drastically in the last two decades.The leading 250 pharmaceutical companies control 70% of the market with market leader holding nearly 7% of the market share.It is an extremely fragmented market with severe price competition and government price control.(WP1; WP3-WP5) Thus, every leading pharma company wants to retain its share in the Indian market and therefore, companies are expanding their production limits day by day.Due to this activity, there is tremendous pressure on the surrounding environmental components such as air, water, soil, flora, fauna and noise levels.This is an attempt to study the ground truth and predict the possible impact of such activities on environmental components as compared to the standards mentioned by the Pollution Control Board in India.

STUDY AREA
The study area comes in the major gaps in the range of mountain of Sahyadri, known as Goa gap between the Maharashtra and Karnataka sections.Goa Industrial Development Corporation (Fig. 1) is the most favorite site for the development and expansion of the pharma unit due to flourishing Trading Culture and excellent Port services at Mormugao -a major, modern and thriving port, the highest exporter in the country.Study site Panjim is located at longitude 15°3' N and latitude 73°55' E. (WP2).The study area was limited to 7 km radial distance from the proposed plant site (Fig. 2).The identified impact zone is covered by agricultural land, forest, wasteland, marketplaces, and other rurally inhabited localities.Within the study area, there are some other big and small industries.Mining, stone quarrying, and crushing are the major activities in the study area.Viz.Merk Pvt. Ltd., Finolex cables Ltd, Heing India Pvt Ltd., Marico Ltd, Madras Rubber Factory, Nestle India Ltd, Sanjivani Sahakar Sakhar Karkhana Ltd, Goa Meet Complex, Hindustan Foods Ltd & Goa Cattle Feed are the industry prevalent in the area.

METHODOLOGY
The reconnaissance survey was undertaken within the study area to collect information regarding the topography of the study area, and other features relevant Identification of the collected plant specimens was made with the help of Standard Floras (Gamble, 1919;Hooker, 1872Hooker, -1897;;Mukherjee, 1984;Almeida, 1990;Naik, 1998;Sharma et al, 1996;Singh & Karthikeyan, 2000).Soil microflora plays an important role as soli quality depends Plantae Scientia, Volume 01 Issue 01, May, 2018 upon the population of Bacteria, Fungi, and Actinomycetes which are vital components of the land environment.The microbial samples collected from various locations in the study area were observed with Compound Research Microscope in the laboratory.Identification of sampling locations was done for the study on biological environment based on topography, vegetation structure, pattern, and distribution.The details of sampling locations are presented in Table 1.Candepar Curti Typical land use pattern in Goa state is mentioned in the graph (WP2).The structure and composition of vegetation cover in the phyto-sociological association were studied by the quadrate method adopted by Clements (1960).In the study of a vegetation community, quadrates equivalent to one hectare (100x100 Sq.m.) for trees; the quadrates of smaller sizes (20x20 sq.m.) for shrubs and quadrates of smallest size (5x5 Sq.m.) for grassland/low herbaceous community were used for the study.To characterize the community as a whole, certain parameters are used.The parameters like Frequency, Density, Importance Value Index (IVI) and Simpson's Diversity Index (SDI) were used in quantitative analysis of plant community.Average density of plants per hectare is shoe in Fig. 3 and Land use pattern is shown in Fig. 4. The formulae incorporating different parameters analyzed and assessed for obtaining the Baseline Terrestrial Environmental Status are presented in Table 2.

Fauna
Actual counts method of the animals is used by following the census technique.At each station, a walkthrough census of animals is made.Line transects of 1km selected for the study and covered by walking.Numbers of animal species were counted directly.Bird fauna was observed through binoculars.Standard field identification guides were used for identifying animal species.
Local fishermen were interviewed for the impact of the effluent discharge on the Fishes.Identification of fishes is done with standard manuals.Fish catch analysis was done with the help of Experts present at National Institute of Oceanography, Goa.The fisherman population is estimated about 24,051 out of which 5,258 are active fisherman in the district (WP2).

OBSERVATIONS & RESULTS
The changes in a biotic community are studied in the pattern of distribution, abundance, and diversity.The reconnaissance revealed that the land around project site is covered with vegetation developed by surrounding pharmaceutical industries.Anacardium, occidentale (Kaju), Cocos nucifera (Coconut), Mangifera indica (Mango) are observed to be dominant along the roadside and species of Avicennia, Rhizophora, Brugueria, Kandellia, Sonneratia near the seashore.
The coast is silty to clayey silt substratum with some sandy part.The major riverine planes in Goa are those of the Mandavi and Zuari which, together constitutes a major alluvial embayment.

Floral Diversity
List of plants dominants in the region is prepared based on visual observation during site visits.Data available with various agencies is referred for identifying rare or endangered species in the region.The wasteland is the areas without any productive usage but left wild with growth of vegetation in natural state.The plants growing are Grewia spp, Woodfordia spp.Vitex spp.Adhatoda spp.Calotropis procera, etc. along with wide variety of herb and shrub species.
During the floristic survey, a total of 110 plant species comprising 55 trees, 35 shrubs and 20 herb species were recorded from the study area belonging to 45 families.The list of the plant species (trees, shrubs and herbs) are shown in Simpson's Diversity Index of plants in the study area is based on the total number of individuals of different species to the total number of all species.The Simpson's Diversity Index for herb, shrub, and trees is shown that the area has a low diversity of herbs (0.025) > shrubs > (0.116) > trees (0.176).
The percentage of medicinal plant species for particularly these observations is about 45%.Medicinal plants are divided into three categories on the basis of their trade and local use with high, moderate and low medicinal values as presented in Table 5.
Natural forests do exist in the area surrounding the project site.However, forest cover on the south-east side has been damaged due to destructive activities.The area of Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary falls in the study area.
Sparse to the dense growth of mangroves are seen in the muddy creeks off coastal belts of the Goa.The present area of survey along the stretch of coast showed the presence of mangrove species viz.

Fauna
During the present survey 28 species of avifauna were recorded (Table 6).The highest index of diversity was recorded at Usgaon village.Based on data collected by the authors' faunal elements found in the region are presented in Table 7.The faunal elements listed in Table 7 are categorized as per Schedule I to IV based on Wild Life Protection Act 1972 and subsequent amendments.

DISCUSSIONS
The floristic structure and species composition in forestland is mainly dominated by Bischofia, Macranga, Hoppea sp.The nature of vegetation cover is mixed, dry, and uneven-aged stands with uneven distribution of Phoenix sylvestris, Anacardium occidentale, Cocos nucifera, Pteris spp, Borassus flabellifer, Cassia sp, and Caesalpinia sp.Most of the human population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood.The grazing on uninhabited wasteland by livestock is a common practice because of more number of cattle and openly available land for grazing.
The density and composition of vegetation hardly change with a change in locations.Grasses and herbs mainly cover open land.Herbs and shrubs are abundant only during monsoon, whereas during rest of the year when the land turns dry, herbs wither and get wiped away from the vicinity.The ground vegetation is composed by seasonal herbs (annual/biennial) with some perennial forms, accounting to 8 species i.e.Grewia asiatica, Cassia tora, Tridax, Aerva, Cyperus, Amaranthus, Achyranthus, Aegeratum etc.The reduction in vegetation cover is attributed to biotic pressures like fuelwood, livestock grazing, clearing for industrial setup, agriculture, human habitation, loss of fertility, erosion, salinity ingression etc.The major components of the moist deciduous forest are the species belong to the families like Rubiaceae, Bignoniaceae, Anacardiaceae, Sapindaceae, Fabaceae, Caesalpiniaceae, and Mimosaceae.The ground flora also contains species of Pteris, Sellaginella, etc.The tree components of this forest are belonging to the families like Clusiaceae, Ebenaceae, Fabaceae, Moraceae, Combretaceae, Euphorbiaceae, and Rutaceae.The tallest and largest trees are belong to the species of Michelia, Cryptocarya, Actinodaphne, Ficus, Lagerstroemia, etc. the shrubby species are Ixora, Calophyllum, Garcinia, Canarium, Artocarpus, Mallotus, Bischofia, Macranga, Hoppea, etc.An average density of plants in Study area is 205 trees, 127 shrubs and 272 herbs/ha in an average noted on the 16 survey locations in the study area.A total of 3280 trees, 2032 shrubs and 4352 herbs were examined in the entire plot area of 1600 x 1600 sq.m. for tree, 320 x 320 sq.m. for shrub, and 80 x 80 sq.m. for herbs.Dominant tree species listed are Terminalia crenulata, Terminalia bellerica, Pterocarpus Marsupium, Borassus flabellifer, Anacardium Occidentale, Cocos nucifera and Phoenix sylvestris.Most dominant shrubs are Calotropis procera, Alangis lamarokki, Kaeampfria rotunda, Crossandra unduliformis, Adhatoda vasica etc. and in case of herbs Withania somnifera , Indigefera tinctoria, Hiptage benghalensis, Vetiveria indica, and Cymbopogon citratus are dominant.
The faunal species have been categorized in Schedules I, II, III, IV and V as per the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972.In general, the rarest, endangered and almost extinct species are classified under Schedule I.The Department of Forests periodically reviews the list and is empowered to shift the species to any other schedule depending upon rarity of the species.According to Wild Life Protection Act 1972 hunting of animals in Schedule I is prohibited and as per amendment (1991) made to this act none of the animals mentioned in Schedule I to IV can be hunted.

CONCLUSIONS
After the collection of baseline data and subsequent identification and possible impact, the following environmental impact statement have been prepared for Biological component which is likely to be affected or benefited due to growing pharma units in the area.The Simpson's Diversity Index for herb, shrub and trees is shown that the area has low diversity of herbs (0.025) > shrubs > (0.116) > trees (0.176).The percentage of medicinal plant species for particularly these observations is about 45%.
Regeneration of trees is poor as compared to herbs and shrubs in the study area except for Cassias and Caesalpinias.Average density of plants in Study area is 205 trees, 127 shrubs and 272 herbs / ha in an average noted on the 16 survey locations in the study area.
During the present survey 28 species of avifauna were recorded.The highest index of diversity was recorded at Usgaon village.In general, the Rare, Endangered and Almost extinct species are classified under Schedule I.Only two species of Mammals ie.Lepus nigricollis, Canis lupus and one species from Reptiles ie.Python molurus noted in Schedule I.
Most of the reserved forest area is on the West and South of the Pharma Industries zone.South-east and East being the most prevalent wind direction, thus, no adverse impact on reserve forest is predicted.The liquid wastes to be generated during processing is being treated by conventional method so as to meet the stipulated standards.The resultant effluent, after discharge in receiving water body, will not have any adverse impact on aquatic ecology.
There is no negative impact observed on the existing natural vegetation and there will not be the change in the existing biodiversity due to pharmaceutical industry in GIDC zone.The wind flow pattern is in opposite direction of the Bondla wild life century.Thus, Wild life is not at all affected air and noise pollution provided there must be scientifically developed Greenbelts.India has a list of threatened species published in Red Data Book by the Botanical Survey of India and Zoological survey of India.No species enlisted in present survey are recorded in Red Data Book as threatened, rare or endangered.

Green Belt Development
As the GIDC is surrounded by lush green forest area along with Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary region.But it is observed that Southeast region of the industrial zone is almost barren.Therefore, it is recommended that green belt should be develop on the basis that it should absorbs air pollutants, fast growing, thick canopy, perennial and ever green and large leaf area index.

Table 4 Table 4 : Plants growing in the Region
Plantae Scientia, Volume 01 Issue 01, May, 2018 Dominant families of plants recorded in the study area are Combretaceae and Caesalpiniaceae and Acanthaceae.
The vegetation type is subtropical coastal thorny scrub jungles with trees predominantly moist deciduous type but rarely evergreen.The natural vegetation is scarce, scattered and open.The reserve forest is found only at Gangem.In all other areas, the trees are dominated by Grewia spp, Woodfordia spp.The forest falls under two major categories like a open Scrub jungle and moist deciduous forests.The forest near Valpoi fall under this category and much of the Goa forest fall under this category.