In Nigeria, MNCs have taken highly toxic waste from European tanneries and pharmaceutical companies. This is done by workers who wear no more than thongs and shorts, and take the barrels of polychlorinated biphenyls and dumping them in residential areas. This has caused high cancer rates in this region.
Also in Nigeria, Nigerian writer and human rights activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who is also a Nobel Prize nominee, was executed by the Nigerian government. He was protesting the exploitive practices of Shell and the environmental damage which was being cause.
The Niger Delta has had over 6.4 million liters of oil spilled into it over the last 30 years. This delta region has rainforests, mangrove habitats, and fragile wetlands. Babies who are fed milk supplements from areas with polluted water are 14 times more likely to die from diarrhea over an infant who is fed natural breast milk.
Exploitation of natural resources leads to other problems as well. Deforestation can lead to soil erosion and desertification, as well as the pollution of water supplies. This can cause the soil to know longer be able to grow food crops. Also according to John Perkins, this can lead to the loss of indigenous people’s homeland as forests are over logged and flooded. This can be seen in the Amazon Basin.