total: 11.09 cu km/yr (10%/12%/78%) per capita: 1,056 cu m/yr (1998)
Natural hazards:
Azores subject to severe earthquakes
Environment - current issues:
soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental
Modification
Geography - note:
Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
People
Portugal