Cyprus Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

water resource problems (no natural reservoir catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, sea water intrusion to island's largest aquifer, increased salination in the north); water pollution from sewage, industrial wastes, and pesticides; coastal degradation; erosion; loss of wildlife habitats from urbanization

Environment - international agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, 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, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Climate

temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters

Land use

agricultural land: 13.4% (2018 est.)

arable land: 9.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 3.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 0.4% (2018 est.)

forest: 18.8% (2018 est.)

other: 67.8% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 67% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 0.76% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 14.52 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 6.63 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 0.86 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 541,000 tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 72,007 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 13.3% (2015 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 100 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 20 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 170 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

780 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Geoparks

total global geoparks and regional networks: 1

global geoparks and regional networks: Troodos (2023)