Thursday, June 12, 2008

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Coral Reefs of Mauritius

Mauritius
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Over the past 50 years, the population of Mauritius has nearly doubled, to 1.2 million. It currently has the highest population density of any African country, 652 people per km2. Mauritius has also seen a dramatic growth in its economy, which has increased demands on its environment.

Coral reefs almost surround Mauritius. Coral reefs are complex ecosystems, rich in biodiversity yet only able to survive in very clear, warm and nutrient-poor ocean waters. In these satellite images, coral reefs (yellow arrows) form a fringe along the island's shores and create shallow lagoons that are extremely important to the fishing and tourist industries. The island's population density as well as agricultural runoff, untreated sewage, changes in freshwater runoff, tourist activity, and global warming all threaten the health of the reefs.
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Just spent 10 days in Flic en Flac. The coral is in dir eneed of help. The locals and resort staff are oblivious to the destruction. I veiwed fishermen with gill nets in front of La Pirogue kill from parrot fish to small octopus anything that moved was taken out and speared. I also witnessed them brake of the coral on which their nets got stuck.

For ecotorism Mauritious should be ashamed.