As a result, poverty is endemic, generously underestimated at 20 per cent of the population in 2011, with the majority of poor households located in rural communities. It is well known that poor communities generate negative pressure on the environment from ‘slash-and-burn’ agricultural activities, improper waste disposal for want of facilities, and settlement on fragile lands that are vulnerable to natural hazards. In the case of Jamaica, there are the additional challenges of servicing the mounting national debt, which in 2013 stood at over 140 per cent of GDP, and ensuring macroeconomic stability so as to provide a basis for economic growth.