Rainbow: The Element Earth

When the first visitors arrived in Mauritius some hundred years ago, they found a tropical paradise. A dense forest of endemic trees and bush covered most of the island’s surface from the mountain tops right down to the sea. It was home to an innumerable variety of fauna and flora, most species existing nowhere else in the world. This was soon to change. The forest had to make way for fields and houses. The “black gold” i.e. the ebony trees were cut down and sold off until they could only be found in inaccessible mountain regions.

The introduction of foreign plants and animals by the settlers destroyed the natural habitat of endemic species even further.

With the setting up of the sugar cane industry, Mauritius became a mono-crop economy. It was only in the mid 70’s that economic diversification took place and the 80’s saw the consolidation of various sectors geared towards export.

Since the European Union recently reduced its subsidies the large sugar companies have started to invest elsewhere and parcel off land to pay their workers retributions. In this way, much agricultural land is urbanised.