Contents
2 Survey &
Translocation Specialists - Qualifications
3 The
Time of Conducting the Surveys and Translocation
4 Methodology
and Results of the Surveys
Annex B Permission
for the Translocation of Romer’s Tree Frog
The Hongkong
Electric Co Ltd (HEC) has planned to commence the installation of
a wind turbine of capacity ranging from 600 to 850kW at
Tai Ling Tsuen, Lamma Island, under the project entitled “Renewable Energy by a
Wind Turbine System on Lamma Island” (hereinafter referred to as the Project)
in February 2005. ERM-Hong Kong Ltd was appointed for the Project to undertake the measures for protection of Romer’s Tree Frogs
(RTFs) under the requirement of Conditions 2.2 to 2.4 of
the Environmental Permit No. EP-201/2004. Conditions 2.2 to 2.4 of
the EP-201/2004 stipulates the following:
2.2 At least one day-time and one night-time
surveys for the Romer’s Tree Frogs (RTFs) within the Project site shall be
undertaken and completed no later than one week before the commencement of
on-site clearance works to minimise impacts on the RTFs. The RTF surveyor shall actively search
within the Project site, paying special attention to all possible
microhabitats, including natural and artificial ones e.g. abandoned containers
with water. All recorded RTFs
(including adults, tadpoles and eggs) shall be collected by hand and
translocated to the stream pools of middle course of Stream S4 near Lo Tik Wan
(as shown in Figure 2 of this Permit), immediately after the surveys. The
results of the surveys and recommendations on follow-up actions required shall
be reported in the Ecological Baseline Monitoring Report as described in
Conditions 2.4 and 3.2 of this Permit.
2.3 The Romer’s Tree Frog (RTF) surveys,
translocations, reporting of the results and recommendation on follow-up
actions, as described in Condition 2.2 of this Permit, shall be undertaken by a
qualified ecologist with at least five years of relevant experience.
2.4 The following details of the Romer’s Tree Frog
(RTF) surveys, the subsequent translocations and follow-up actions shall be
reported in the Ecological Baseline Monitoring Report as described in Condition
3.2 of this Permit:
(a) The time of conducting the surveys and translocations;
(b) Methodology and results of the surveys;
(c) Methodology of collecting the RTFs (including adults,
tadpoles and eggs), if found, within the Project site during the surveys;
(d) Procedures of transportation of the RTFs (including
adults, tadpoles and eggs), if found, from the Project site to the receptor
site i.e. stream pools of the middle of Stream S4 near Lo Tik Wan as shown in
Figure 2 of this Permit;
(e) Recommendation(s) on any follow-up actions required
for protection of the identified and translocated RTFs; and
(f) Photos and location plans to illustrate the results of
the surveys and translocations.
The shrubby grassland located within the Project Site for the Renewable Energy by a Wind Turbine System on Lamma Island will unavoidably be modified by the proposed
construction works. A total of 3 calling males of protected amphibian species Romer's Tree Frog Philautus romeri were recorded within the Project Site during the EIA stage. All of the three individuals were found
near a rain-filled plastic container and a discarded PVC U-shaped water pipe
during wet season (May to June 2004).
No tadpoles were recorded during the survey. In view of the generally poor
vegetation cover and the dryness of the upland areas, it is believed that the
Project Site, as well as the areas in the vicinity, do not provide optimal
habitats for Romer’s Tree Frog. In order to protect the Romer's Tree Frog, mitigation measures focus on translocating
the Romer's Tree Frog, if any, before commencement of the construction within
the Project Site was required under the requirement of
Conditions 2.2 to 2.4 of the Environmental Permit No. EP-201/2004.
This Ecological Baseline Monitoring Report is submitted under the
requirement of the Condition 3.2 of the Environmental Permit (EP-201/2004) to provide details on the
time of conducting the surveys and translocations, methodology and results of
the surveys, methodology of collecting the RTFs (including adults, tadpoles and
eggs), if found, within the Project site during the surveys, procedures of
transportation of the RTFs (including adults, tadpoles and eggs), if found,
from the Project site to the receptor site i.e. stream pools of the middle of
Stream S4 near Lo Tik Wan, recommendation(s) on any follow-up actions required
for protection of the identified and translocated RTFs, and photos and location
plans to illustrate the results of the surveys and translocations, as well as
the qualification and experience of the qualified persons who were responsible
for the survey and translocation works, as described in Conditions 2.2 to 2.4 and 3.2 of the Environmental Permit.
The report has been organised into the following Sections:
· Section 2 – Survey & Translocation Specialists - Qualifications
· Section 3 – The Time of Conducting the Surveys and Translocations
· Section 4 – Methodology and Results of the Surveys
·
Section
7 – Follow-Up Action
Two qualified
ecologists with expertise in terrestrial and aquatic ecology, and amphibian
identification have been selected to undertake the survey and translocation
works. Both of them are thoroughly
proficient in local ecology, field survey, wildlife capture and translocation with more than five years of relevant
experiences.
They have recently
completed the translocation of amphibian species of conservation interest,
including Romer’s Tree Frog, Lesser Spiny Frog and Hong Kong Newt for the Tung
Chung Road Improvement Project. Curriculum vitae of the two
specialists are provided in Annex A.
Ecology Specialist and Survey & Translocation Team Leader: Terence Fong is a Senior Consultant with ERM’s Water & Ecology Group specialised in the evaluation of vegetation, wildlife and ecological values of different habitats. Mr Fong has supervised and undertaken the wetland recreation, coral tranlocation, rare/protected plant species transplantation, amphibian (including Romer’s Tree Frog, Hong Kong Newt and Lesser Spiny Frog) and rice fish translocation works. He has conducted extensive surveys on different habitats and the associated vegetation and wildlife for Study in Terrestrial Habitat Mapping and Ranking Based on Conservation Value, SUSDEV21 Environmental Baseline Survey on Terrestrial Habitat Mapping and Ranking based on Conservation Value, Ecological Surveys at Tai O and Ngong Ping, EIA for Reclamation of Sai Wan Typhoon Shelter and Associated Engineering Works at Cheung Chau and fishponds study in San Tin. He supervised tree surveys in the region of North-west New Territories for Yuen Long and Kam Tin Sewerage and Sewage Disposal Stage 1 Sewers, Rising Mains and Ancillary Pumping Stations: EIA and TIA. He has been involved in the specific baseline monitoring programme for the locally rare White-bellied Sea Eagles at Pa Tau Kwu, as recommended in EM&A Manual of the Theme Park EIA Study. Mr Fong is currently the Deputy Project Manager and prepared the revised Habitat Creation and Management Plan for the KCRC’s Detailed Design for Wetland Re-creation. As the Ecology Specialist and Translocation Team Leader for the Improvement to Tung Chung Road between Lung Tseng Tau and Cheung Sha, Mr Fong has recently completed the translocation of amphibian and fish species of conservation interest.
Herpetofauna
Specialist: Dr Michael Lau is the Programme
Coordinator of the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden’s China Programme with
specialist knowledge in the design and execution of ecological surveys and
conservation projects. Dr Lau has
studied Romer’s Tree Frog since 1991 and rescued over 200 individuals of the species
from the Chek Lap Kok before construction of the new Hong Kong airport. He has
undertaken ecological and herpetofaunal surveys focusing on fish ponds,
agricultural fields, abandoned paddy fields, streams, forests, and shrublands
in Hong Kong and in South China.
He was previously involved in the Biodiversity Survey undertaken by the
University of Hong Kong for which he carried out and coordinated a
territory-wide survey of vertebrate species. He has published a number of articles on Hong Kong herpetofauna
and co-authored Hong Kong Amphibians and Reptiles. Dr Lau was Reserve Manager at the Mai Po Marshes Wildlife
Education Centre and Nature Reserve responsible for the supervision of various
projects including the establishment of the Mai Po Captive Wildfowl Collection
and the execution of several habitat engineering works. As the Herpetofauna Specialist for the Improvement
to Tung Chung Road between Lung Tseng Tau and Cheung Sha, Dr Lau has recently completed the
translocation of amphibian and fish species of conservation interest.
HEC has planned to commence the site clearance in February 2005. Permission
for the collection of the protected fauna (Romer’s Tree Frog) for the Project
was obtained from the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation on 31
December 2004 (permit attached in Annex B). The one day-time and one night-time surveys for the Romer’s Tree Frogs
(RTFs) within the Project Site were undertaken by the Survey &
Translocation Team on 4th January 2005. As there was no RTFs found within the Project Site, no
translocation work was undertaken.
The results are presented in Section
4.
In this study, survey and collecting techniques were used in a complementary manner. The day-time and night-time Romer’s Tree Frogs surveys were undertaken on 4th January 2005. The existing conditions of the Project Site and the Receptor Site (middle course stream pools of Stream S4 near Lo Tik Wan) for the release of the captured individuals of the Romer's Tree Frog were also investigated during the surveys. The location plan of the Project and Receptor Sites is presented in Figure 4.1.
Romer’s Tree Frog breeds in shallow water (ie stream pools and shallow water areas inside woodland/tall shrub) during the wet season (March to September), and usually lives on the ground or among fallen leaves within woodlands outside the breeding season. Adult males could be successfully located by listening for the calls during breeding season and tracing the individuals from the call, however, Romer’s Tree Frog do not call outside the breeding season. Since January is not the breeding season of Romer’s Tree Frog, surveys for the Romer’s Tree Frog were undertaken only by active searching of the whole Project site. Some grasses restricting the access and searching were cut down to less than 10cm in height (if necessary) in order to facilitate the survey of Romer’s Tree Frog. The EIA Report indicated that all of the three individuals of Romer's Tree Frog were found near a rain-filled plastic container and a discarded PVC U-shaped water pipe during wet season, any containers were therefore checked and surveyed carefully within the Project Site.
Similar to the conditions stated in the EIA
Report, the Project Site was mainly covered by shrubby grassland, and dominated
by grasses and small shrubs, with a few small trees located at the fringe of
the Project Site next to the 275kV Cable Route. However, the Project Site was found
to be very dry and no water-filled containers were recorded during the surveys.
The dryness of the site was indicated in the photographic records as shown in Figure 4.2.
The day
and night-time surveys confirmed that no Romer’s Tree
Frog (including adults, tadpoles
and eggs) was found within or in the vicinity of the Project
Site. The results were consistent with the finding of the EIA
Report which indicated the Project Site, as well as the
areas in the vicinity, do not provide optimal habitats for Romer’s Tree Frog in view of the
generally poor vegetation cover and the dryness of the upland areas.
All individuals of Romer's Tree Frog (including adults, tadpoles and eggs) seen during the survey, if found, are required to be captured using hands and hand net, and then put into acrylic terraria (60x40x40 cm) with lids lined with plastic mosquito netting for temporary storage. Captured adults, tadpoles and eggs shall be stored separately. A few wet, dead leaves shall also be added to provide shelter and increased the humidity. When putting the species into containers for transport, animals shall have suitable space (no ‘stacking’ should occur). For translocations, any frogs/tadpoles/eggs captured shall be moved to the receptor site (middle course stream pools of Stream S4 near Lo Tik Wan) on the same day or night of capture and released as soon as possible. Care shall be taken during the whole handling process in order to ensure no harm to the captured individuals. As there was no RTFs found within the Project Site during the surveys, no translocation work was undertaken.
All captured individuals of Romer's Tree Frog (including adults, tadpoles and eggs) shall be stored temporary in acrylic terraria as specified in Section 5. Any Romer's Tree Frog (including adults, tadpoles and eggs) captured from the Project Site shall be moved to the receptor site (middle course stream pools of Stream S4 near Lo Tik Wan) on the same day or night of capture and released as soon as possible. As there was no RTFs found within the Project Site during the surveys, no translocation work was undertaken.
As there was no Romer's Tree Frog found within the Project Site during the
surveys and no translocation work undertaken, follow-up actions required for
protection of the identified and translocated RTFs are not necessary for the
Project.
