While the quote provided does not specify particular countries, it outlines a general principle that the world's poor are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation. Within this context, to determine which countries' populations would be most affected, one would typically look for countries with the following characteristics:
1. **Low Income Levels**: Poorer countries often lack the resources to invest in environmental protection or to provide their citizens with access to clean energy.
2. **High Dependence on Natural Resources**: Countries whose economies and livelihoods are heavily dependent on agriculture, fishing, or forestry may be more vulnerable to environmental changes.
3. **Geographic and Climatic Vulnerability**: Countries that are experiencing severe effects of climate change, such as increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters, rising sea levels, or extreme weather conditions.
4. **Weak Governance and Limited Institutional Capacity**: Countries with less effective governance are often less equipped to manage environmental challenges or to implement solutions that protect the poor.
Using these criteria, countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and parts of Southeast Asia and Latin America, where many of the world's poorest populations live, could be identified as being most affected by environmental degradation. Examples might include nations like:
- **Bangladesh**: Prone to flooding and cyclones, with a high population density and poverty levels.
- **Haiti**: Experiencing severe deforestation, soil erosion, and is vulnerable to natural disasters.
- **Malawi**: Heavily reliant on agriculture, with a large portion of its population living in rural areas and facing challenges like deforestation and soil degradation.
- **Nepal**: With a large rural population dependent on natural resources, facing issues like deforestation and land degradation.
- **Chad**: Affected by desertification, water scarcity, and extreme poverty.
It's important to note that the level of impact on an individual in any given country will also depend on their specific location within that country, their socioeconomic status, and the local government's ability to respond to environmental issues. The situation is complex and multi-faceted, and the United Nations and other organizations often work together to assist the most vulnerable populations in addressing environmental challenges.