Mauritius, like all small island developing states, has limited land resources. With a total area of 2000 km2 (including its overseas territories) and a population of 1.2 million, it is one of the most populated countries of the world – about 600 inhabitants/km2.
During the past few decades, the demand for land for various types of development has increased considerably. It is imperative that we manage our scarce land resources sustainably especially in view of the looming global food crisis and the ever-increasing risks of land degradation by floods and droughts due to climate change.
Several areas of our territory are severely degraded. Land degradation occurs in almost all the major land uses e.g. forest lands, agricultural lands, pasture lands (especially in Rodrigues), coastal and residential areas.
The UNDP/GEM/GoM project on ‘Capacity Building for Sustainable Land Management in Mauritius including Rodrigues’ has prepared this booklet with a view to raising awareness on the risks of land degradation and the benefits of practising Sustainable Land Management.
