| Environment - current issues | soil erosion from overgrazing, deforestation, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; limited natural freshwater resources; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; drought, desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; disruption of the fragile ecosystem has resulted in significant floral extinctions; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; overfishing, pollution, and invasive species are also problems |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Air pollutants | particulate matter emissions: 7.19 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.) carbon dioxide emissions: 375.91 megatons (2016 est.) methane emissions: 105.01 megatons (2020 est.) |
| Total water withdrawal | municipal: 3.392 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) industrial: 2.662 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) agricultural: 10.5 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Revenue from forest resources | forest revenues: 0.13% of GDP (2018 est.) |
| Revenue from coal | coal revenues: 0.78% of GDP (2018 est.) |
| Waste and recycling | municipal solid waste generated annually: 13.345 million tons (2015 est.) municipal solid waste recycled annually: 5,618,245 tons (2015 est.) percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 42.1% (2015 est.) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
