Panama Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest; land degradation and soil erosion threatens siltation of Panama Canal; air pollution in urban areas; mining threatens natural resources

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, 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: Marine Life Conservation

Climate

tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)

Land use

agricultural land: 30.5% (2018 est.)

arable land: 7.3% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 2.5% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 20.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 43.6% (2018 est.)

other: 25.9% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 69.5% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.08% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 11.78 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 10.71 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 5.97 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 1,472,262 tons (2015 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

salt water lake(s): Laguna de Chiriqui - 900 sq km

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 760 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 10 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 450 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

139.3 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)