Pointe d'Esny Wetland. 16/09/11; Grand Port; 22 ha; 20°25'36'S 057°43'11'E. A rare example of a wetland characterized by a subtropical mangrove forest containing Rhizophora mucronata and, reportedly, the rarer Bruguiera gymnorhiza, mud flats, and a sub-mangrove belt of pan-tropical coastal plants. The site provides habitat for some threatened plants and the native butterflies Phalanta phalantha and Eurema floricola ceres. The site is a natural coastal wetland of shallow depth whose water level fluctuates with rainfall and tidal variation. Its water is brackish, being a mixture of tidal sea water and freshwater overflow from inland. The main threats within the site include intense pressures to convert the wetland for various ecologically unsustainable economic purposes; a growing tourist industry, coastal roads, agricultural uses, and growing human settlements affect the site adversely. Ramsar site no. 1988. Most recent RIS information: 2011.