Le Morne Research Articles

Investment Law and World Heritage: The Case of Le Morne

Investment Law and World Heritage: The Case of Le Morne

Mangrove mapping and monitoring using remote sensing techniques towards climate change resilience

Mangroves are amongst the richest ecosystems in the world providing valuable goods and services to millions of people while enhancing the resilience of coastal communities against climate change induced hazards, especially island nations. However, these mangroves are severely affected by many anthropogenic activities. Therefore, understanding the spatial variability of mangroves in island nations is highly essential in the events of ongoing climatic change. Thus, this study assessed the use of remote sensing techniques and GIS to map and monitor mangrove cover change at selected sites, namely Le Morne and Ferney, on the tropical island of Mauritius. Freely available 2013 SPOT-5 and 2023 Sentinel 2A images were retrieved and processed using ArcGIS Pro tools and SNAP; mangroves were mapped based on Google Earth Pro historical imagery and ground truthing at the respective sites. Following the application of selected vegetation indices, GLCM and PCA analysis, mosaicked images were classified using the Random Trees algorithm. Kappa values of all the classified images were in the 90 s; Le Morne showed a significant increase in mangrove cover over the decadal scale with main class change from mudflat to mangroves. This study demonstrates how geo-spatial tools are crucial for monitoring mangroves as they provide spatially explicit and time sensitive information. Decision makers, researchers, and relevant stakeholders can utilize this data to bolster tailored mitigation and adaptation strategies at specific sites, thereby enhancing resilience to climate change.

Constructing a Composite Disaster Resilience Index towards Natural Disasters in Mauritius

Mauritius is a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) which faces regular environmental hazards due to its geographical location. Building disaster-resilient communities has become the goal of many disaster risk reduction (DRR) frameworks. This study aimed at quantifying the resilience of the population of Mauritius towards natural disasters using statistics drawn from secondary sources of data. A Composite Disaster Resilience Index (CDRI), which ranged from 0 to 100, was established. Four indicators and sixteen sub-indicators which reflected domains of resilience in terms of community capacity, economic, built-up environment and social, were used to develop the CDRI. Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to map the CDRI across 144 administrative areas, which included 124 Village Council Areas (VCAs) and 20 Municipal Council Wards (MCWs), for a visual representation. Resilience indices were classified into least and most resilient. Results showed a spatial variation in resilience levels towards natural disasters across the administrative areas. Nearly fifty percent of the eleven most resilient communities were found in urban areas (MCWs). Twelve administrative areas were the least resilient towards natural disasters and emerged from rural (VCAs) and marginalised areas only. Coastal villages of Grand Sable, Quatre-Soeurs, Bambous-Virieux, Le Morne and Case Noyale formed a cluster of least resilient communities along the East coast. A t-test analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in resilience levels between urban and rural regions at p < 0.05. Results suggested that infrastructure and the social capacity building were likely to be less developed in rural areas than in urban areas. Findings also demonstrated that most VCAs and MCWs performed less well in community resilience when compared to the rest of the dimensions of resilience. Results provided evidence with potential to help decision-makers in the allocation of resources to improve resilience in Mauritius.

Meeting the challenges to climate change adaptation: an NGO community-based successful projects in Mauritius.

Climate change and anthropogenic pressure are among the main drivers of coastal environment degradation in Mauritius, a small island developing state. Globally, mitigation and adaptation strategies applied to the complex socio-ecological coastal systems offer effective solutions in curbing the adverse impacts. In environmental protection, Non-Governmental Organisations' (NGOs) role was first recognised in the 1992 UN Agenda 21 for Sustainable Development, and they are now integrated with most coastal environmental rehabilitation programmes. This paper describes two climate-based adaptation projects undertaken about a decade ago by an NGO in Mauritius. The projects were community-driven in all phases of implementation. The first project focussed on the Ecosystem-based-adaptation (EbA) approach of restoring a mangrove ecosystem and improving community life at Le Morne Village. The second project aimed at the rehabilitation of a historical site and the consolidation of a degraded coastline at Poudre d'Or Village. Components of 'hard' and 'soft' adaptive measures were applied as pathways to guide project implementation. The projects required extensive field visits, focus group interviews, and participatory inputs from all stakeholders. A 10-year assessment of the processes applied in the conceptualisation, implementation, and in evaluating the outcomes was gleaned from regular visits to local inhabitants, stakeholders, and NGO members since the completion of the projects. In 2022, an informal interview at Le Morne and a survey at Poudre d'Or showed that both projects resulted in positive outcomes. Good governance capacity and rigour in the management of the project team were highlighted as crucial attributes to the success of the projects.

Remote sensing monitoring of mangrove growth rate at selected planted sites in Mauritius

Mangroves are highly productive and rich ecosystems that thrive at the interface of land and sea. They provide a wide range of essential goods and services, contribute highly to coastal protection and the livelihood of coastal communities, and are also carbon-rich biomes contributing to carbon sequestration. Mangroves are primarily threatened by anthropogenic activities; a loss in biodiversity has been observed in the past years in many countries including Mauritius. Given their value to the ecosystem, it is important to have effective continuous monitoring of mangrove dynamics. We studied the rate of increase of canopy coverage of planted Rhizophora mucronata forests in two selected sites (Le Morne and Grande Rivière Noire) on a southern African island – Mauritius – using Google Earth Pro historical Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 images. Data were processed using ImageJ software. To our knowledge, this technique has not yet been applied for monitoring mangrove growth. The mangrove sites were classified into four zones based on water level and tidal variations. On average, the rate of increase of canopy coverage expressed by a coefficient ‘b’ at Le Morne (b = 1.901) was higher than that at Grande Rivière Noire (b = 1.823). The coefficient ‘b’ positively correlated with the zonations (r ~ 0.8). Higher ‘b’ values (2.319–2.886) were observed in Zone 1, where the substrate is always covered with water at low tide. The use of remote sensing data along with image processing analysis proved to be an effective tool to obtain relevant information, not only for mapping mangroves but also for monitoring the canopy growth rates of planted mangroves.Significance: We describe a novel technique whereby remote sensing data are processed through image processing using ImageJ software, to effectively monitor planted mangrove canopy growth by pixel count. This study highlights the successful application of the technique to obtain relevant information for mapping and monitoring the canopy growth rates of planted mangroves. This technique can be further extended to identify potential areas for mangrove propagation worldwide based on tidal level variations.

Occurrence and distribution of opisthobranch sea slugs in environment-impacted areas of Mauritius

The opisthobranch are a diverse group of sea slugs sensitive to anthropogenic pollution. Considering the plans of Mauritius to expand the harbour, the present study investigated the distribution of opisthobranch in area of close proximity. A total of three survey areas (Bain des Dames, Rivière Noire and Le Morne) were monitored over a period of fifteen months (August 2019 to December 2020) using belt transects of 50 m × 5 m. Environmental variables such as nutrients (nitrate, sulphate, phosphate, organic matter, organic carbon) and heavy metals (chromium 53Cr, iron 57Fe, cadmium 111Cd and 114Cd, tin 119Sn, mercury 202Hg and lead 208Pb) were measured. A total of 1367 opisthobranch belonging to 76 species and 20 families were recorded, with 13 novel records. Species richness was higher at Bain des Dames (H’ = 3.22) and Pielou’s evenness index fluctuated from December 2019 to June 2020 and in December 2020 at Le Morne. PERMANOVA analysis showed species composition depends on survey location, period and its complex interaction (p < 0.05). Most records were made during the breeding/spawning season (summer). The SIMPER analysis showed the Cephalaspideans were the dominant species explaining the dissimilarity between Bain des Dames and Rivière Noire (40.63%). Their observations possibly relate to feeding purposes since they feed on polychaete which inhabit fine grain and organic rich areas. The sacoglossans explained the dissimilarity between Bain des Dames and Le Morne (38.73%) and Rivière Noire (44.95%). Their abundance relate to their abundant food source. The three locations differed from each other, with concentration of environmental variables higher at Bain des Dames. The BIO-ENV matching analysis showed organic matter, organic carbon and depth (R = 0.328, p < 0.05) best explained the pattern in biotic assemblage. The findings show pollution is not affecting the population of opisthobranch. Their tolerance to nutrient enrichment suggest their valuable use as biological indicators.

Assessment and management of coastal erosion: Insights from two tropical sandy shores in Mauritius Island

Rising sea level and increasing tropical storm frequency caused by the changing climate are threatening small Island economies which depend on their coastal environments and resources. Owing to the high socio-economic and environmental values of tropical sandy beaches, monitoring the evolution trends of shorelines are regarded as an essential strategy to improve the resilience of Island states. The present study conducted in Mauritius, indicates a net erosional effect at Le Morne amounting to 8049.7 ± 5% m2 which is attributed to the hydrodynamics of the lagoon, whilst a net accretional effect has been observed at Flic-en-Flac, equivalent to 6571.3 ± 5% m2 and attributed to periodic beach nourishments. The shoreline evolution at Le Morne is predominantly influenced by Passe de la Prairie where an average energy of 0.162 m2/Hz, corresponding to an average wave height of 1.16 m, carries enough energy and momentum to influence the sediment transport near the peninsula. At Flic-en-Flac, longshore currents propagating on either sides of the central region and directed northwards and southwards influence the shoreline, resulting in an accretion zone extending 62.5 ± 15 m near Villa Caroline over the 2009–2018 period. To dampen this problem, a beach management strategy is proposed which revolves around the restoration of corals in front of eroded shores, replacement of casuarina trees, and enforcement of regulatory laws.

A contribution to understanding blue carbon sequestration and forest structure in mangroves of different ages in a small island (Mauritius)

Abstract. Ramdhun D, Appadoo C. 2020. A contribution to understanding blue carbon sequestration and forest structure in mangroves of different ages in a small island (Mauritius). Ocean Life 4: 74-81. Mangrove biomes, a blue carbon coastal ecosystem, are considered as the most carbon-rich forest in the tropics, but there is a knowledge gap on their ecosystem services especially in small islands. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the carbon stock in sediment and aboveground biomass of three different ages of Rhizophora mucronata forests along the coastline of Mauritius. Forest structure was assessed, and measurements of diameter at breast height were used to calculate biomass using allometric equation. Corer samples were collected in each site and sectioned into subsamples of 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm and 20-30 cm, to analyze soil bulk density and soil organic carbon. The highest SOC stock (470.08 t ha?¹) was recorded at Mahebourg and lowest (331.33 t ha?¹) in the young stand at Le Morne. The total organic carbon contents varied from 931.50±17.06 t ha?¹ (at Mahebourg) to 350.76±4.058 t ha?¹ (young forest at Le Morne). There was no significant difference in soil carbon density at different soil depths studied at Le Morne (n=81, p=0.430 (old forest), p=0.875 (young forest)), however, a different scenario was observed at Mahebourg (n=81, p=0.027). This study is the first to report on the potential of carbon storage at these sites in Mauritius and add to the knowledge of the ecosystem services of this ecosystem.

Colonialism, slavery and ‘The Great Experiment’: Carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotope analysis of Le Morne and Bois Marchand cemeteries, Mauritius

Slavery, colonialism and emancipation are important aspects of archaeological research in the Atlantic region, but the lifeways of colonial populations remain understudied in the Indian Ocean World. Here, we help to redress this imbalance by undertaking stable isotope analysis (C, N and O) on human remains from Mauritius, a location which played an important role in the movement of people across the Indian Ocean and beyond. The results indicate that a wide range of diets was consumed in Mauritius during the nineteenth century, varying with location and circumstances of birth such that while a range of resources would have been available on the island, the proportions of the different resources consumed was different for different people. Most people consumed some C4 resources, likely maize, although the proportion of the diet that this represented varied widely. There is some evidence for the use of marine resources, with one individual consuming a very high proportion of marine foods. In general, the people buried at the post-emancipation cemetery Le Morne consumed a higher proportion of C4 foodstuffs and a lower proportion of animal protein and/or marine resources than those individuals buried at the formal public cemetery Bois Marchand. The data from La Morne are consistent with a population that lived separately as children and then came to live, and eat, together during adulthood. This study has shown a much more nuanced picture of diet in Mauritius at this time than was previously known. The research complements and enriches the historic narrative, adding dimensions to small islands that would otherwise remain obscure in the absence of rigorous scientific assessment of archaeological finds.

Identification of optimal wind, solar and hybrid wind-solar farming sites using fuzzy logic modelling

In this paper, an analytical framework is developed using fuzzy logic to evaluate optimal sites for wind, solar and hybrid wind-solar farms; using criterial components for energy optimization through climatological, topographic and human factors. The model is applied through a case study to the island of Mauritius which bears a highly complex topography. Through this computation, fuzzy constraints including wind and solar power, site elevation, settlement areas, and proximity to grid lines are all fitted to different fuzzy membership sets and the individual satisfaction degrees of each were calculated and aggregated into overall satisfaction degrees. Decision maps of highly suitable regions for hybrid wind-solar farming were then highlighted revealing two potential sites on the island for hybrid wind-solar farming; revealing a total generation potential of energy per year of 161.58 GWh at Le Morne and 281.28 GWh at La Laura-Malenga. The findings of this study aim to guide energy and urban planners to better identify optimum sites for wind, solar and hybrid wind-solar farm construction whilst making optimal use of land resources to achieve both sustainable dimensions and energy economic resilience.

Invariances in the architecture of pride across small-scale societies

Becoming valuable to fellow group members so that one would attract assistance in times of need is a major adaptive problem. To solve it, the individual needs a predictive map of the degree to which others value different acts so that, in choosing how to act, the payoff arising from others' valuation of a potential action (e.g., showing bandmates that one is a skilled forager by pursuing a hard-to-acquire prey item) can be added to the direct payoff of the action (e.g., gaining the nutrients of the prey captured). The pride system seems to incorporate all of the elements necessary to solve this adaptive problem. Importantly, data from western(-ized), educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies indicate close quantitative correspondences between pride and the valuations of audiences. Do those results generalize beyond industrial mass societies? To find out, we conducted an experiment among 567 participants in 10 small-scale societies scattered across Central and South America, Africa, and Asia: (i) Bosawás Reserve, Nicaragua; (ii) Cotopaxi, Ecuador; (iii) Drâa-Tafilalet, Morocco; (iv) Enugu, Nigeria; (v) Le Morne, Mauritius; (vi) La Gaulette, Mauritius; (vii) Tuva, Russia; (viii) Shaanxi and Henan, China; (ix) farming communities in Japan; and (x) fishing communities in Japan. Despite widely varying languages, cultures, and subsistence modes, pride in each community closely tracked the valuation of audiences locally (mean r = +0.66) and even across communities (mean r = +0.29). This suggests that the pride system not only develops the same functional architecture everywhere but also operates with a substantial degree of universality in its content.

The archaeology of Mauritius

Abstract

Objects past, objects present: Materials, resistance and memory from the Le Morne Old Cemetery, Mauritius

This article centres on two distinct material assemblages, both representing resistance but in markedly different ways and at different times. It introduces a regional comparative of religious syncretism, longanis, to an archaeological audience. Longanis, a belief system that developed within slave communities, offers insightful similarities to Atlantic counterparts, as well as unique features in its own right. The article applies an archaeological viewpoint to burial and belief practice to better assess the role that materials have played in serving as proxies for African toolkits and memory.

The Search for Makak: A Multidisciplinary Settlement History of the Northern Coast of Le Morne Brabant, Mauritius

Le Morne Brabant is an important mountain landscape in the living memory, colonial history, and national identity of Mauritius. This paper presents a kind of salvage project to understand Makak, an elusive, “mythic” settlement along Le Morne’s northern coast. This detailed analysis brings together wide-ranging oral, written, and material evidence to show that Makak is an informal place name for an area first settled by French colonists in the 1700s, then by several prominent “Free Colored” families in the 1800s, and finally depopulated as residents were forcibly removed in the 1940s. The investigation suggests that Makak is a serial settlement, which seemingly was not eking by at the edge of the Indian Ocean, but thrived as a multicultural community, tapped into global trade networks. The project thus provides a new way of framing Le Morne’s history and heritage, while also providing a potential research model for the nascent field of Mauritian historical archaeology.

From slave to Maroon: the present-centredness of Mauritian slave heritage

Focusing on the heritage sector, this article traces ways of remembering and representing slavery in Mauritius from the first tentative acknowledgment at government level in 1985 to today. Three heritage sites – a monument in Port Louis, the National History Museum in Mahebourg and Le Morne Mountain, a World Heritage site associated with slavery – and their textual and visual narratives serve as exemplary cases of shifting dominant paradigms of representing slavery in the course of the past two decades. Focusing on the national dimension, the article also attempts to contextualize these readings by detecting some of the actors constructing specific images of slavery, as well as their motives and positions of speaking.

The Non-Adult Cohort from Le Morne Cemetery, Mauritius: A Snap Shot of Early Life and Death after Abolition

The cemetery of Le Morne in Mauritius dates from the 1830s and is thought to contain the remains of slaves, freed slaves or potentially free Madagascans, which in itself has economic and social implications and makes the cemetery all the more intriguing. During 2010, excavations recovered the remains of 11 individuals, of which six were children. Although a small sample, the burials of the non-adults show several interesting features. Two neonates were buried contemporaneously and may have been twins, while a late term foetus in a grave with a young woman may represent an incident of coffin birth. This sample has the potential to cast light on the burial practices of the slave/ex-slave community in Mauritius, about which little is currently known. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Brontës at Work on Novels by Eugène Sue

In addition to Charlotte Brontë’s use of Eugène Sue’s Mathilde and Le Morne- au-diable as models for her early fiction, outlined in my earlier article, both these novels are proposed here as contributions to the formation of Emily’s Wuthering Heights, Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Branwell’s And the Weary Are at Rest. Emily’s incisive recasting of both novels by Sue suggests that she took advantage of Charlotte’s absence in Brussels during 1843 to introduce these works to her brother and sister in the course of that year. This article proposes that all the Brontës, Patrick’s Irish brother Hugh included, recognized Emily’s leadership in handling story materials she found in Yorkshire history and literature, and novels by Eugène Sue.

Modeling community support for a proposed integrated resort project

In recent years Mauritius has experienced a rapid increase in integrated resort developments, which have been intended to secure income from new tourism segments and to boost the local economy. Using data on the responses of residents of Le Morne, Mauritius, to a proposal to construct an integrated resort, this study develops and tests a model of community support for the proposed development. The structural model indicates that residents' satisfaction with their own community, their utilization of the resource base, their perceptions of the state of the local economy and their environmental attitudes are antecedents of their views about the costs and benefits of the project. Opinions about the benefits and costs of the project were also found to determine the level of community support. All factors in the model were found to be determinants of the perceived costs and benefits of the project, except for residents' perceptions of the impact of the development on their utilization of the resource base. The theoretical and managerial implications of the study are discussed. The most notable contribution of the study is its findings on the influence of residents' satisfaction with community services on their attitudes and support for tourism development.

Exploring the Relationship Between Motives and Perceived Risks in Windsurfing: The Case of ‘Le Morne’, Mauritius

This paper explores the relationship between international visitors' motives for choosing Mauritius as a windsurfing destination and the perceived risks with this adventure activity. Adopting a post-positivist approach, survey data were collected from 89 windsurfers at ‘Le Morne’. The qualitative results indicated dimensions of risks and motives confirming other findings while the quantitative results showed merging of some dimensions reflecting the complexity of these constructs. ‘Crowd’ and ‘Social and Location’ risks were significantly correlated with motives of ‘Learning’, ‘Personal Development’ and ‘Novelty and Fun’. Socio-demographics and windsurfing experience had some influence on motives but none on perceived risks except for nationality. The marketing implications are also discussed in the end.

Current Patterns and the Distribution of Benthic Habitats in a Coastal Lagoon of Mauritius

The oceanography around Mauritius (in the Western Indian Ocean) remains largely unstudied, hence there is an acute scarcity of marine environmental data for management purposes. Rigorous water depth and current measurements were made on a system of grids inside Le Morne lagoon (in the south western part of Mauritius) in March–April 2000 to generate semi-quantitative models of general flow pattern in the form of contour maps using SURFER 6 computer programme. A simultaneous survey on composition of bottom cover was conducted to examine possible relationships with current speed. A separate investigation recorded surface and bottom currents prevailing amongst various habitat types to demonstrate the nature of the resulting damping effect on surface current speed. Significant correlations generated from data analysis were discussed as a basis for real biophysical relationships. Some of the limitations in the current analysis and some of the seemingly contradictory results are acknowledged and addressed in the light of the general assumption that the structure of the lagoon is conditioned by current speeds. Much stronger current speeds just outside the reef (e.g. >0.5 m s−1) than inside the lagoon (e.g. <0.32 m s−1) indicated a substantial slow-down of water current by the reef barrier. Inshore bottom currents were weaker than at the surface and current speed correlated well with water depth. Bottom and surface current directions were generally similar, i.e. going northward during flood tide and southward during ebb. The lagoon would be classified as ‘restricted’, exhibiting well-defined tidal circulation, which is modified by wind forcing. Dense fields of branching Acropora corals slowed down surface current speed by as much as 87%, but the relationship between current speed and bottom cover appears to be variable, depending on the specific location within the lagoon under consideration. The contour plots of the flow pattern model generated reasonably high qualitative modelling of spatial current speed pattern in the lagoon, with stronger currents generally along the reef areas, at the reef passes and in the deeper zones. However, these plots did not match closely those displaying distribution of bottom cover, thus confirming results obtained from pair-wise correlation tests, namely the lack of a significant relationship between current speed and bottom cover. Most of the correlations would appear to represent biological relationships, with different types of communities enabling or excluding other types. Thus, the biophysical structure of the lagoon would be driven a priori by the distribution and abundance of corals rather than current speeds, which contradicts the above hypothesis. Recurrent natural hazards subject the benthic communities to a state of ‘perpetual knock-down and recovery’. Recovery, however, can be seriously impaired by the chronic ongoing degradation of the coastal marine environment of Mauritius. An urgent review of its coastal zone management and protection strategy would be desirable for the island.