The road transport sector is one of the major contributors of greenhouse gases and other air
pollutants emissions. Regional emissions levels from road vehicles were investigated, in
Mauritius, by applying a fuel-based approach. We estimated fuel consumption and air
emissions based on traffic counts on the various types of classified roads at three different
regional set ups, namely urban, semi urban and rural. The Relative Development Index
(RDI), a composite index calculated from socio-economic and environmental indicators
was used to classify regions. Our results show that the urban motorways were the most
polluting due to heavy traffic. Some rural areas had important pollution levels as well.
Our analysis of variance (ANOVA), however, showed little difference in emissions among
road types and regions. The study can provide a simple tool for researchers in countries
where data are very scarce, as is the case for many developing countries.