Mineral resources are exploited by mining companies that often dump toxic tailings in local water supplies, destroying nearby lands in the process. The debt burden is only one cause of this misuse of creation, but it is an important one. Large debt burdens add another obstacle in the way of countries' dedicating sufficient resources to environmental protection. As scarce government resources are devoted to excessive debt payments, money is lacking for environmental ministries which are essential to regulate and protect the use of natural resources. The result is that businesses can pollute the environment and not worry about being prosecuted.
Deforestation accelerates beyond the limits set by the state.
Illegal dumping of pollutants into the air and rivers increases. And endangered or threatened species continue to be exploited. The shrinking government budget has another more indirect impact on the environment. As fewer resources are directed toward poverty reduction, people living in poverty try to survive by cutting down trees to build makeshift homes and provide heat for their families. As they are forced off farmland by large landowners, they turn to marginal lands to subsist.