Cabo Verde Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

deforestation due to demand for firewood; water shortages; prolonged droughts and improper use of land (overgrazing, crop cultivation on hillsides lead to desertification and erosion); environmental damage has threatened several species of birds and reptiles; illegal beach sand extraction; overfishing

Environment - international agreements

party to: 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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Climate

temperate; warm, dry summer; precipitation meager and erratic

Land use

agricultural land: 18.6% (2018 est.)

arable land: 11.7% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.7% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 6.2% (2018 est.)

forest: 21% (2018 est.)

other: 60.4% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 68% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.83% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.38% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 31.08 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 0.54 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 0.13 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 132,555 tons (2012 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 1.6 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 400,000 cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 30 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

300 million cubic meters (2020 est.)