Total Land Area (1000 ha)	103070
Total Forest Area (1000 ha)	242
Percent Forest Cover	n.s.
Primary Forest Cover (1000 ha)	0
Primary Forest, % total forest	0
Other wooded land (1000 ha)	3060
Percent other wooded land	3

Mauritania: Breakdown of forest types, 2010

Primary forest (1000 ha \| % of forest area)	0	0
Other naturally regenerated forest (1000 ha \| % of forest area)	221	91
Planted Forest (1000 ha \| % of forest area)	21	9

Mauritania: Trends in Total (Net) Forest Cover, 1990-2010

TOTAL FOREST COVER (1000 ha)
1990	2000	2005	2010
415	317	267	242
ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (1000 ha) Negative number represents deforestation
	1990-2000	2000-2005	2005-2010
	-10	-10	-5
ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (percent) Negative number represents deforestation
	1990-2000	2000-2005	2005-2010
	-2.66	-3.37	-1.95

Mauritania: Trends in Natural Forest Cover (Deforestation), 1990-2010

FOREST COVER (excluding planted forests) (1000 ha)
1990	2000	2005	2010
410	304	250	221
ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (1000 ha) Negative number represents deforestation
	1990-2000	2000-2005	2005-2010
	-11	-11	-8
ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (percent) Negative number represents deforestation
	1990-2000	2000-2005	2005-2010
	-2.6	-2.59	-2.73

Mauritania: Trends in Primary or Old Growth Forest Cover, 1990-2010

PRIMARY FOREST COVER (1000 ha)
1990	2000	2005	2010
0	0	0	0
ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (1000 ha) Negative number represents deforestation
	1990-2000	2000-2005	2005-2010
	0	0	0
ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (percent) Negative number represents deforestation
	1990-2000	2000-2005	2005-2010
	-	-	-

Mauritania: Trends in Planted Forest Cover, 1990-2010

PLANTED FOREST COVER (1000 ha)
1990	2000	2005	2010
5	13	17	21
ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (1000 ha) Negative number represents deforestation
	1990-2000	2000-2005	2005-2010
	1	1	1
ANNUAL CHANGE RATE (percent) Negative number represents deforestation
	1990-2000	2000-2005	2005-2010
	10.03	5.51	4.32

Mauritania: Primary designated function (percent)

Production	Protection of soil and water	Conservation of biodiversity	Social services	Multiple use	Other	None or unknown
0	7	20	0	73	0	0

Mauritania: Forest ownership and management rights 2005 (percent)

OWNERSHIP PATTERN
Public ownership	Private ownership	Other
97	3	0

PRIVATE OWNERSHIP
Individuals	Business entities and institutions	Local, indigenous and tribal communities
100	-	-

HOLDER OF MANAGEMENT RIGHTS OF PUBLIC FORESTS
Public administration	Individuals	Business entities and Institutions	Communities	Other
99	0	0	1	0

Mauritania: Growing stock in forest

GROWING STOCK IN FOREST
Total (million m3)	Per hectare (m3)	Coniferous (million m3)	Broadleaved (million m3)	% commercial species
5	20	0	5	-
GROWING STOCK IN FOREST
Total (million m3)	Per hectare (m3)	Coniferous (million m3)	Broadleaved (million m3)	% commercial species
31	10

Mauritania: Trends in carbon stock in living forest biomass 1990-2010

CARBON STOCK IN LIVING FOREST BIOMASS (million metric tons)
1990	2000	2005	2010
13	10	8	7
CARBON STOCK IN LIVING FOREST BIOMASS (per hectare in tons)
			2000
			30
ANNUAL CHANGE (1 000 t/yr)
1990	2000	2005	2010
	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.
ANNUAL CHANGE PER HECTARE (t/ha/yr)
1990	2000	2005	2010
	n.s.	n.s.	n.s.

Mauritania: Area of forest affected by fire and other disturbances 2005

FOREST FIRE
1000 ha	% wild fire (not managed burn)
1	100

EXCLUDING FOREST FIRE
Insects	Diseases	Other biotic agents	Abiotic factors	Total (excluding fire)	% of 2005 forest area
-	-	-	-	-	-

Mauritania: Trends in removals of wood products 1990-2005

INDUSTRIAL ROUNDWOOD Total volume (1 000 m3 over bark)
1990	2000	2005	percent of which from forest 2005
6	7	5	-
WOODFUEL Total volume (1 000 m3 over bark)
1990	2000	2005	percent of which from forest 2005
1321	1643	1865	-

Mauritania: Value of wood and NWFP removals 2005

Value of removals (million US$)				Value per ha forest (US$)
Industrial roundwood	Woodfuel	NWFP	Total
-	2	-	-	-

Mauritania: Employment in forestry 1990-2005

TOTAL (1000 full-time employees)
1990	2000	2005
-	-	-
IN PRIMARY PRODUCTION OF GOODS-FORESTRY (1000 full-time employees)
1990	2000	2005
-	-	-
IN MANAGEMENT OF PROTECTED AREAS-CONSERVATION (1000 full-time employees)
1990	2000	2005
-	-	-

Mauritania: Forest policy and legal framework 2008

National forest policy (year): Yes (2001)
Sub-national forest policy: No
National forest program (year) - status: No (-) -
National forest law (year): Specific forest law (2007) Sub-national forest law: No

Mauritania: Human resources within public forest institutions 2000-2008

2000		2005		2008
#	% female	#	% female	#	% female
-	-	-	-	160	6

Mauritania: Forest revenue and public expenditure on forestry 2005

Forest revenue	Public expenditure (1000 US$)
	Domestic funding		External funding		Total
(1000 US$)	Operational expenditure	Transfer payments	Operational expenditure	Transfer payments	Operational expenditure	Transfer payments
-	565	-	-	-	565	-

Mauritania: Status of ratification of international conventions and agreements as of 1 January 2010

CbD:

UNFCCC:

Kyoto Protocol:

UNCCD:

ITTA:

CITeS:

Ramsar:

World Heritage Convention:

NlbI: [an error occurred while processing this directive] Mauritania: Environment

Environment - current issues	overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Senegal, which is the only perennial river; locust infestation
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts

Mauritania: Land use / Resources

Land use (%)	arable land: 0.48% permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.51% (2001)
Natural resources	iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish

Mauritania: Economy

Economy - overview:	Half the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood, even though many of the nomads and subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore, which account for nearly 40% of total exports. The decline in world demand for this ore, however, has led to cutbacks in production. The nation's coastal waters are among the richest fishing areas in the world, but overexploitation by foreigners threatens this key source of revenue. The country's first deepwater port opened near Nouakchott in 1986. In the past, drought and economic mismanagement resulted in a buildup of foreign debt which now stands at more than three times the level of annual exports. In February 2000, Mauritania qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and in December 2001 received strong support from donor and lending countries at a triennial Consultative Group review. A new investment code approved in December 2001 improved the opportunities for direct foreign investment. Ongoing negotiations with the IMF involve problems of economic reforms and fiscal discipline. In 2001, exploratory oil wells in tracts 80 km offshore indicated potential extraction at current world oil prices. Mauritania has an estimated 1 billion barrels of proved reserves. Substantial oil production and exports are scheduled to begin in early 2006 and may average 75,000 barrels per day for that year. Meantime the government emphasizes reduction of poverty, improvement of health and education, and promoting privatization of the economy.
GDP - per capita	$2,000 (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate (%)	5.5% (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep
GDP - composition by sector (%)	agriculture: 25%, industry: 29%, services: 46% (2001 est.)
Industries	fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum
Economic aid - recipient	$305.7 million (2002)
Debt - external	$2.5 billion (2000)
Population below poverty line (%)	40% (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation (%)	agriculture 50%, industry 10%, services 40% (2001 est.)

Mauritania: Population / Demographics

Population (July 2005)	3,086,859
Population growth rate (%) (2005)	2.90%
Population density (people/sq km) (2005)	3.0
Percent rural (2003)	38.2%
Median age (years)	total: 16.98 years
Total fertility rate (children born/woman)	5.94 (2005 est.)
Ethnic groups (%)	mixed Maur/black 40%, Moor 30%, black 30%

Largest Cities in Mauritania

Cities and urban areas in Mauritania with population over 100,000 All figures are estimates for 2002.

City	Country	City Population	Urban Area Population
Nouakchott	Mauritania	426300	426300

Mauritania: Infrastructure

Telephones - main lines in use	31,500 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	300,000 (2003)
Roadways (km)	total: 7,660 km paved: 866 km unpaved: 6,794 km (1999)

Mauritania: Health

Life expectancy at birth (years)	total population: 52.73 years male: 50.52 years female: 55 years (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate	70.89 deaths/1,000 live births
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate (%)	0.6% (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases	degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and Rift Valley fever are high risks in some locations respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2004)

Mauritania : References & Data Sources

Environment, Land use / Resources, Economy, Population / Demographics, Infrastructure, Health -- CIA World Factbook, 2005

Forest Cover, Forest types, Breakdown of forest types, Change in Forest Cover, Primary forests, Forest designation, Disturbances affecting forest land, Value of forests, Production, trade and consumption of forest products -- The FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS's Global Forest Resources Assessment (2005 & 2010) and the State of the World's Forests (2009, 2007, 2005, 2003, 2001)

Protected Areas, Plant and animal biodiversity -- United Nations Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). 2004. World Database on Protected Areas.

Biosphere reservers -- United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) - Man and Biosphere Program. 2004. UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory.

RAMSAR sites -- The Bureau of the Convention on Wetlands . 2005. The Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.

World Resources Institute's EarthTrends web site

The 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Population Data -- United Nations Population Fund

With additional analysis by Rhett Butler of mongabay.com

Tropical rainforest information

World Rainforests

Rainforest Structure

Rainforest Biodiversity

Rainforest Conservation

Country Reports update soon

References

Deforestation Tables

The Amazon Rainforest update soon

The Congo Rainforest update soon

Deforestation in Brazil

Rainforest Images

Copyright Rhett Butler 1994-2006

"Rainforest" is used interchangeably with "rain forest" on this site.
Same for "rainforests" and "rain forests". "Jungle" is generally not used.