Soil erosion ; desertification ; river
and coastal water pollution due to the dumping of raw
sewage, petroleum refining wastes and other industrial
effluents ; inadequate supplies of potable water
Environmental commitments
A party to Conventions on Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Wetlands. Has signed, but not ratified,
the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Climate
Arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters
with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters
and hot summers on high plateau; scirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden
wind especially common in summer
Terrain
Mostly high plateau and desert; some
mountains, narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
