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Energy Systems and Technologies for the Coming Century ...

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1 IntroductionLocated in <strong>the</strong> Indian Ocean, about 850 kilometers (km) east of Madagascar, <strong>the</strong>Republic of Mauritius is made up of various small isl<strong>and</strong>s which are Rodrigues Isl<strong>and</strong>,<strong>the</strong> Agalega Isl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> Cargados Carajos Shoals <strong>and</strong> covers a total area of 2040 squarekm. Mauritius is <strong>the</strong> biggest isl<strong>and</strong> of <strong>the</strong> Republic, with an area of 1,825 square km. It isof volcanic origin <strong>and</strong> is surrounded by coral reefs, with a coastline of about 16 km (referto Figure 1 <strong>for</strong> a map of Mauritius). Since its independence in March 1968 from <strong>the</strong>British Empire, Mauritius has successfully evolved from a mono-crop sugar-basedeconomy to a modern <strong>and</strong> diversified service-based one. Toge<strong>the</strong>r with <strong>the</strong> traditionalsugar <strong>and</strong> manufacturing (mainly <strong>the</strong> export processing zone (EPZ)) sectors, in<strong>for</strong>mation,communication <strong>and</strong> technology (ICT), financial, <strong>and</strong> tourism sectors constitute <strong>the</strong> neweconomic pillars of <strong>the</strong> country. In addition, <strong>the</strong> government has been encouraging <strong>the</strong>development of <strong>the</strong> seafood <strong>and</strong> aquaculture hubs which could be considered aspromising pillars.Mauritius has a population about 1.28 million <strong>and</strong> is a fairly democratic state 1 . In 2009,about 40% of <strong>the</strong> population 2 lives in <strong>the</strong> urban regions such as <strong>the</strong> capital city of PortLouis (146,319), Beau-Bassin/Rose-Hill (105,377), Vacoas (101,789), Curepipe (82,756)<strong>and</strong> Quatre-Bornes (77,145). The isl<strong>and</strong> state has a population density of 665 inhabitantsper square km. On average, Mauritius has experienced a real gross domestic product(GDP) growth rate of 4.35% over <strong>the</strong> period 2006-2009. On an international purchasing1 The average political rights <strong>and</strong> civil liberties scores over <strong>the</strong> period 2007- 2009 are 1 <strong>and</strong> 2 respectively. Politicalrights <strong>and</strong> civil liberties are measured on a one-to-seven scale, with one representing <strong>the</strong> highest degree of Freedom <strong>and</strong>seven <strong>the</strong> lowest. These democracy scores are computed from <strong>the</strong> Freedom House website at: Error! Hyperlinkreference not valid..2 More in<strong>for</strong>mation is available online at: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2833.htm.Risø International <strong>Energy</strong> Conference 2011 Proceedings Page 383

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