The deforestation of the island has been the most sensitive question since it is home to many rare indigenous species. A well known German ecologist and journalist for an ecological periodical in Munich working for Mauritian Wildlife who has studied the project has warned of the negative impact on marine life. According to him, during the season of heavy rains and during irrigation, water running into the lagoon will carry a lot of chemical fertilizers which will cause immense damage to the fish colony and to the coral barrier. As it is fishermen's catches have been diminishing from year to year and they are apprehensive that all the chemical compounds that will flow into the sea will make fishing completely impossible. One source of marine pollution, which has for a long time been neglected to be dealt with, is the amount of debris and plastic containers floating along the coastline.
Plastic are in great demand as they are durable, relatively inexpensive and lightweight.
However these same properties can create problems when they are not managed properly. Plastic does not break down readily and therefore tends to remain in the marine environment for three to five years if not longer. Marine life is especially sensitive to the debris. Wildfowl and sea creatures get hurt or killed when they mistakenly eat or become entangled in them. Many cargo vessels in use today were not designed with adequate capacity to store garbage and often tourists and recreational boaters do not bring their trash ashore but just dump it into the sea.