Tuvalu Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

water needs met by catchment systems; the use of sand as a building material has led to beachhead erosion; deforestation; damage to coral reefs from increasing ocean temperatures and acidification; rising sea levels threaten water table; in 2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban

Climate

tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)

Land use

agricultural land: 60% (2018 est.)

arable land: 0% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 60% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)

forest: 33.3% (2018 est.)

other: 6.7% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 66.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.08% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 6.81 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 0.01 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 0.01 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 3,989 tons (2011 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 598 tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 15% (2013 est.)

Total renewable water resources

0 cubic meters (2017 est.)