Population and Land Use in Developing Countries Report of a Workshop (1993) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
7 Mauritius: Population and Land Use
7 Mauritius: Population and Land Use
Pages 98-105
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 98... ...
Currently, because of its young age structure, the population is still growing by 1 percent annually despite subreplacement fertility in the mid-1980s. The fertility decline in Mauritius occurred in the absence of economic growth and may be attributed mostly to improved female educational status and active family planning programs (Lutz, 1990~.
|
From page 100... ...
Usually, one implicit assumption inherent in the study of the relationship between population and land use change is the existence of a strong, direct relationship between the amount of arable land available and the number of people that can be supported by the agricultural production of that area, i.e., the carrying capacity constraint of a society mainly occupied with hunting, collecting, or growing of crops and livestock for its own consumption. However, this direct relationship changes character and becomes weaker as a country develops and as it enters international markets.
|
From page 101... ...
The main tendency is quite clear: Other agriculture produces more value per land unit than does sugar cane production; and the consumption value of residential housing is higher compared to any agricultural use of the same land, but considerably lower than all commercial urban land use. Within the urban category, industrial sites produce somewhat less value per land unit compared to private and public services.
|
From page 102... ...
Only sugar cane production still rates high both in the amount of land used and the absolute value added of its production. This simple relationship between value added and used land is only a crude indicator of the direction and strength of the economic forces driving changes in the land use pattern.
|
From page 103... ...
The whole purpose of export-oriented production is to get a valuable asset for use in trading on the world market, thereby importing what otherwise had to be produced locally for domestic consumption. Therefore it is not the direct need for food crops, etc., to feed a growing population that steers land use patterns on Mauritius, but rather the desire for an efficient total production and consumption pattern.
|
From page 104... ...
This paper draws from a larger study on population and sustainable development in Mauritius conducted by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in scientific collaboration with the University of Mauritius and with funding from the United Nations Population Fund. With the help of a computer simulation and information system, the project studies the effect of changes in population size and structure (by age, sex, educational status, and labor force participation)
|
From page 105... ...
Hence, like in many other places in the world, the question is not one of conquering virgin land, but rather how best to set up a useful garden scheme that takes maximum advantage of all available land. In Mauritius, the effects of population growth on land use are highly indirect.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.