Abstract
Environmental Impact Assessment Studies (EIA) for four developmental projects were chosen for this study viz-a-viz., oil and gas, river diversion, hydropower and gold mining. The EIA studies for these activities have been conducted in three different ecological regions: the flood region in the former southern Sudan, low rainfall Savannah and desert region. Trees, shrubs and herbaceous species were identified and recorded in each region. Species encountered for the first time, endangered, invasive and increasers were also reported. The EIA studies have produced lists of natural flora in areas which were difficult to access without the EIA missions. During the EIA study for Jonglei Canal project the new mono specific genus Suddia sagitifolia was discovered in the flood region as the only endemic aquatic plant in Sudan. Within the same region, the smallest floating plant in Sudan (Wollfia hyaline) was reported. The critically endangered “Argon Palm” (Medemia argun) was encountered in the Nubian Desert of the Red Sea State during a gold mining EIA study. The Seha (Belpharis persica), not reported to exist in desert conditions, has been found in the Great Desert west of the Nile during an EIA study for Kajbar Hydropower project. The paper calls for the publication of the above findings and highlights the need for further detailed studies in order to enhance knowledge of the Sudanese biodiversity status.
Highlights
Sudan is endowed with many ecological zones; they extend from the desert and semidesert in the north to the low rainfall woodland savannah in the south
Environmental Impact Assessment Studies (EIA) for four developmental projects were chosen for this study viz-a-viz., oil and gas, river diversion, hydropower and gold mining
The EIA studies for these activities have been conducted in three different ecological regions: the flood region in the former southern Sudan, low rainfall Savannah and desert region
Summary
Sudan is endowed with many ecological zones; they extend from the desert and semidesert in the north to the low rainfall woodland savannah in the south. Funds and the presence of some of these plant communities in remote, inaccessible regions have exacerbated the grave situation It is for the latter constraint that environmental impact assessment studies have come to play a significant alleviating role. To fulfil the mandate of an EIA and for its objectives to be materialized, the environment where the project is going to be constructed and operated, or where its impacts could reach, the original environment has to be studied. Such a study which entails the documentation of present status of the physical and biological environmental components is called the baseline study. The geology, hydrology, (surface and ground water), meteorology, air quality, soil, vegetation, wildlife, land use and socio-economic aspects are all components of the baseline part of the EIA
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