Biodiversity and Tourism in Mauritius and Reunion
The islands of Mauritius and Réunion contain endemic species found nowhere else in the world that are plagued by massive population decline. Before the 1500s, these islands were uninhabited by humans. Soon after the arrival of the first explorers, Dutch settlement and the introduction of non-native plant and animal species, biodiversity loss mushroomed (WRI 1989). Since the over 400 years following the first alterations in the islands' ecosystems, populations of native birds, reptiles, and trees have been driven to extinction.
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