Environment Statistics - Year 2016
Highlights
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission
1. GHG emissions went up by about 1% from 2015 to 2016. Gross emissions increased from 5,371 to 5,319 thousand tonnes of CO2 equivalents. Net emissions, after absorption by forestry & land use practices, increased from 4,950 to 5,008 thousand tonnes of CO2 equivalents.
2. In 2016, the energy sector accounted for the largest share of emissions (76%) followed by the waste sector (20%).
Solid Waste
3. In 2016, solid waste landfilled at Mare Chicose weighed 444,695 tonnes, 0.8% less than in 2015 (448,476 tonnes).
Land Use
4. The harvested area under sugar cane cultivation decreased by 1.7% from 52,387 hectares in 2015 to 51,477 hectares in 2016 while area under tea cultivation increased by 8.4% from 574 to 622 hectares.
Water
5. In 2016, the Island of Mauritius received 3,536 million cubic metres (Mm3) of water from rainfall, 20.2% lower when compared to 4,433 Mm3 in 2015.
6. Total water utilisation was estimated at 961 Mm3 in 2016. The agricultural sector accounted for 37% (351 Mm3), hydropower 35% (341 Mm3) while the remaining 28% (269 Mm3) was used by the domestic, industrial and tourism sectors.
Complaints
7. The number of complaints, received by the Pollution Prevention and Control Division of the Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity and Environment and Sustainable Development, increased from 628 in 2015 to 701 in 2016. The complaints were mainly due to: noise (14%), air pollution (13%), odour (11%), waste water (9%), and solid waste (7%).
July 2017
