Outer Islands of Mauritius

Outer Islands of Mauritius (French: Îles éparses de Maurice) is the single first-order administrative division of the country and consists of the islands of Mauritius and several outlying islands.[1] It is under the responsibility of the Ministry of Local Government and Outer Islands. The Constitution of Mauritius provides that the country includes the islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agaléga, Saint Brandon (Cargados Carajos), Tromelin and the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia and any other island comprised in the State of Mauritius.[2] The Government of Mauritius claims sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, which the United Kingdom split from its territories to create the British Indian Ocean Territory before its independence in 1968. Additionally, France shares a sovereignty claim over Tromelin, an uninhabited islet between Madagascar and Mauritius' main island.[3]

Mauritius
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Mauritius
Constitution
Presidency
Government
Legislature
Judiciary
Elections
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs
    Minister: Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo

Territory
Republic of Mauritius including islands claim by the country

The total land area of the country is 2040 km2 (excluding the Chagos Archipelago), that is the 169th largest nation in the world by size. Mauritian territory also incorporates the island of Rodrigues, which is situated some 560 kilometers to the east and is 104 km2 in area.[1] Rodrigues used to be the country's tenth district, it gained autonomous status in 2002. The twin islands of Agaléga have a total land area of 2,600 hectares and are situated some 1,000 km to the north of Mauritius. Saint Brandon is situated some 430 km to the north-east of Mauritius; it is an archipelago comprising a number of sand-banks, shoals and islets.[1] Just off the Mauritian coast lie some 49 tiny uninhabited islands and islets (see Islets of Mauritius), some of which are used as natural reserves for the protection of endangered species.

The nation's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) covers about 2.3 million km2 of the Indian Ocean, including approximately 400,000 km2 jointly managed with the Seychelles.[4] Four fishing banks fall within EEZ limits: the Soudan Banks (including East Soudan Bank); Nazareth Bank; Saya de Malha Bank; and Hawkins Bank. In 2011 the United Nations endorsed the joint submission of Mauritius and Seychelles to extend their continental shelf of 396,000 km2 in the Mascarene region which gives the two countries sovereign right to jointly manage and exploit the seabed and subsoil of the joint area.[5][6][7]

See also

Further reading

References
  1. Government of Mauritius. "Location - The territory of Mauritius". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. Commonwealth of Nations (2011). "Mauritius- Country profile" (PDF): 1. Retrieved 12 April 2012. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. "CIA- The World Factbook". cia.gov. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  4. "MAURITIUS: PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN OCEAN ECONOMY" (PDF). Intercontinental Trust. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  5. "Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) Outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines:Submissions to the Commission: Joint submission by the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of Seychelles". United Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  6. "Mauritius: Commonwealth assists Mauritius, Seychelles in successfully claiming 396,000km of additional seabed". AllAfrica. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  7. "Mauritius and Seychelles to jointly manage extended continental shelf". 6 May 2011. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.