National Marine Ecosystem Diagnostic Analysis (MEDA) -Mauritius

The Republic of Mauritius consists of the main island of Mauritius and several outlying islands namely, Rodrigues, Agalega, St. Brandon, Tromelin and Chagos Archipelago. The total land area of Mauritius is 2040 km2 the while the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is about 2 million km2. Mauritius has at different periods been a colony of the Dutch, French and British. Effective Dutch Colonisation of the island started in 1598 and ended in 1710. The French occupation started in 1721until 1810 when the island was captured by the British. The country attained independence in 1960. Mauritius has inherited a socio-econo-political system based on the Westminster model with a multi-party democracy and mixed economy based on sugar, textiles and apparel, tourism, freeport, financial sector, sea food hub and information and communication technology.

In 2010, the population of Mauritius was 1,283,415 with a population density of around 629 inhabitants per square kilometres. The country has an ageing population with the proportion of youth declining. Mauritius is a mosaic of diverse cultures and religions with the original population having originated from the three continents namely Africa, Europe, and Asia. In terms of health situation, the population suffering from noncommunicable diseases is high with 24% of persons aged 30 years and above having Diabetes. With climate change and its related effects, the outbreak of epidemics such as chikungunya, dengue fever, malaria and influenza can be expected to be more frequent.

The MEDA is a national contribution to the multinational Transboundary Diagnostic Analyses (TDA) -Strategic Action Programme (SAP) process, and was funded and supported by the Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystems Project (which is funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme).