The impact of agriculture on the environment in Mauritius
| MSI99P2093 | |
| Ng Kee Kwong, K. F. | |
| The impact of agriculture on the environment in Mauritius | |
| University of Mauritius, Fête de la Science, University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius, 8-10 February 1996 (Abstract book) | |
| Book chapter | |
| 1996 | |
| p. 39 | |
| Réduit, Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute | |
| Abstract | |
| En | |
| En | |
| With approximately 90 per cent of the 90 000 ha of existing arable land under sugar cane, cultivation of the sugar cane, in public opinion, represents the greatest uncontrolled threat to surface and ground water in Mauritius. Granted, 10 000 tonnes nitrogen and 1 100 tonnes of commercial pesticidal products are applied every year to the sugar cane. Yet studies of nitrate/herbicide leaching and monitoring of the nitrate/herbicide residues in ground and surface waters had shown the concentrations of nitrate and herbicide residues to be far below the maximum permissible level laid down in the 1991 Environment Protection Act of Mauritius (e.g. 10 mg nitrate N/L and 3 µg atrazine/L). Those studies, however, should not be construed to mean that there is no scientific foundation to public concern about sugar cane cultivation contaminating water resources in Mauritius. Indeed, as an example, more than 4 000 tonnes of the N used can still not be accounted for. This in itself is sufficient to call for effort, initially directed to determining water pollution by deep percolation, to be refocused on emission of nitrous oxide to the atmosphere and on contamination of water courses by erosion, surface runoff and lateral subsurface drainage. | |
| AGRICULTURE POLLUTION ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS | |
| MAURITIUS | |
| Environment pollution | |
| 1996-02-29 | |
| En | |
| LIB | |
| CAT | |
| 1 | |
| CHEM |