S E C T I O N S

Introduction

Prior to the arrival of man, the island was covered with dense forests  consisting mainly of tall and slow growing trees. On the low lying lands along  the coast, Palm savannah was to be found. At low altitudes there were  Diospyros/Elaeodendron forests and on the plateau, forests of Sapotaceae.

All of the Palm savannah disappeared very early on with the arrival and  subsequent settlement of man early in the 17^th century. That was very  quickly followed by the disappearance of the Diospyros/Elaeodendron forests, cut  down by the French for ship building and houses. Later on the British cut down  large tracts of Sapotaceae forests to make way for habitation and cultivated  fields.

The  result is that today less than 1% of the area of Mauritius is now  covered with native vegetation, exotics having invaded much of the  forests.

Forest Cover

The forest cover of Mauritius amounts to only 56,880 hectares, which barely  represents 30% of the total surface area of the island. That surface cover is  the absolute minimum required. Two thirds of this cover are privately owned  forests (34 540 hectares), the remainder being state land forests.

6540 hectares of private forests are protected by law as mountain or river  reserves and 4585 hectares of state forests are protected as nature or islets  reserves.

A further 12000 hectares are forest plantations, 79% of which is planted with  pine or other soft woods.(1994)
 

A classification of the Forest Land

I. Crown (State) Forest  Lands Area (Hectares) Total Area (Hectares) (a) Plantations 11916 11916 (b) Nature Reserves on the Mainland islets 4018 567 4585 (c ) Unplantable, protective or to be protected 4710 4710 TOTAL STATE FORESTS 21211 II. Pas  Geometriques Plantations (estimated) Leased for grazing and tree planting Unproductive (rocky) 211 230 211 211 230 211 TOTAL "PAS GEOMETRIQUES" 652 III. Privately Owned Forest  Lands (a)Reserves protected by Law Mountain Reserves River Reserves 3800 2740 6540 (b)Forest Lands, including scrub and grazing lands 28000 TOTAL PRIVATE FOREST 34540 TOTAL FOREST 56403

The Importance Of Forests And Their  Uses
 

Forests are of utmost importance for soil conservation, the protection of  water catchment areas and the conservation of fauna and flora. In Mauritius, the  main economic use of forests is for the production of timber, poles and fuel  wood and deer ranching (note that deer ranching can have detrimental effects on  the forest when animals destroy young plants and in doing so prevent  regeneration). The domestic production of timber meets only 30% of the local  demand. The National Physical Development Plan estimates that about a quarter of  the population relies on wood and wood charcoal as domestic fuel. This amount of  wood is said to represent 80,000 tonnes of petroleum products.

River Reserves
 

River reserves are defined as being strips of privately owned land that  borders both sides of a water course. Water courses are classified into three  categories:

1. River
2. Rivulet
3. Feeder

The width of river reserves in case of a river are 50 feet, for a rivulet 25  feet and for a feeder 10 feet. The purpose of river reserves is to provide a  permanent tree cover along side water courses. This permanent tree cover is  necessary to prevent soil erosion especially during the rainy season. The  approximate area of river reserves is over 2000 hectares.

Interestingly enough, the legal protection of river reserves dates form 1769,  when the French authorities of the time passed the first legislation needed to  protect the tree cover of river reserves ( Article VI of "Reglement Economiques"  of 1769).

Nature Reserves
 

In 1993 was proclaimed the Black River Gorges Nature Park. The first of its  kind in Mauritius.

Protected areas in Mauritius

Name Areas in Hectares National Parks Black River National Park 6574 Nature Reserves Perrier 1.5 Cabinet 17.73 Corps De Garde 90 Le Pouce 68.8 Gouly Pere 10.95 Les Mares 5.1 Bois Sec 5.91 Off Shore Island Reserves Round Island 169 Flat Island 253.3 Gabriel 42.2 Gunners Quoin 75.98 Ile Aux Serpents 31.66 Ile Aux Aigrettes 24.69 Ilot Marianne 1.98 Private Reserves run by the Royal Society of Arts  and Sciences Mondrain Nature Reserve 5 Sir Emile Series Nature Reserve 8 Mountain and River  Reserves Mountain Reserves 3800 River Reserves 2740