Area:

2 040  km2

Population:

1.5 Million

Climate:

Mean maximum temperature ranges from 26ºC to around 30ºC in summer and from 22ºC to 27ºC in winter when moving from the Centre to the coastal areas. Average minimum temperature varies from 19ºC to around 22ºC in summer and from 15ºC to 19ºC in winter when moving from the Central Plateau to the coastal areas. The warmest months are January and February and the coolest July and August. Average annual rainfall over Mauritius amounts to 2 010 mm, of which about two thirds (1 344 mm) are recorded during summer. The summer rains are very often associated with tropical systems and contribute significantly to replenish the country’s reservoirs and aquifers. The wettest month is February and the driest October. The rainfall regime varies widely over the island, the Central Plateau receiving up to around 4 000 mm compared to the Western region where an average of 800 mm is recorded annually.

Natural Resources:

Successful economic diversification has helped reduce over reliance on agriculture sector, the previously major contributor to GDP, is now superseded by secondary and tertiary economic engines. Agriculture constitutes up to 4.6%, industry 24.1% and services 71.3%.

Agriculture:

Agriculture sector is dominated by sugarcane production (about 90% of cultivated land) with about 70% of the sugarcane sector (43 000 ha) under corporate management (31 units) and the remaining 23 000 ha owned by some 23 500 individuals. Food crops, tea, tobacco, palm, fruit and flowers are produced on the remaining 10% of the cultivated land area and the production is dominated by some 12 000 small growers. Livestock is practiced by 6 000 producers at a relatively low level on mainland Mauritius.

Climate Vulnerabilities:

The direct climate change impacts likely to adversely affect Mauritius include an increase in the frequency of intense rainfall episodes, sea level rise and an increase in intensity of tropical cyclones. Exacerbating these impacts are the inherent environmental vulnerabilities of Small Island Developing States, which include small land area, susceptibility to natural disasters, geographical isolation, limited natural resources and sensitive ecosystems. Further compounding the situation are unsustainable practices and environmental problems such as coastal erosion, sand mining and soil erosion. The frequency of intense tropical cyclones (wind gusts between 234 and 299 km/h) has increased. The number of rainy days and the amount of precipitation has decreased but the number of heavy rainfall events has increased in recent years. Consequently, flash floods and temporary disruption of various socio-economic activities have become more frequent.

Source:

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/musnc2.pdf

Terminologies:

Aquifers: is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt) from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using water well. They are typically saturated regions of the subsurface that produce an economically feasible quantity of water to a well or spring (e.g., sand and gravel or fractured bedrock often make good aquifer materials).

Flash floods: is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or melt water from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields. Flash floods may occur after the collapse of a natural ice or debris dam, or a human structure such as a man-made dam.