A Deadly Decade: The Crisis Facing Environmental Defenders
Over the last decade, environmental defenders have been killed, disappeared, or silenced while risking all to protect our planet’s most vital ecosystems.
A Deadly Decade for Environmental Defenders
Standing at the frontline of the planetary ecological crisis, environmental defenders risk their lives to protect land, water, and forests. Over the past decade, these individuals, many from Indigenous and marginalized communities, have faced lethal violence, disappearances, harassment, and legal persecution at alarming rates. Drawing from a decade of reports and witness accounts, this article delves into the dangers defenders endure, the systemic forces behind the violence, and the urgent need for global action to protect those who are defending nature for us all.
The Grim Tally: How Many Lives Have Been Lost?
Global data compiled by advocacy organizations such as Global Witness paint a stark picture:
- More than 2,250 deaths and disappearances of environmental and land defenders have been recorded worldwide since 2012, with an average of one person killed every two days.
- Latin America is the deadliest region, with nearly 90% of kills in some years, consistently hosting the majority of targeted violence.
- Colombia, Brazil, the Philippines, and Mexico are repeatedly cited as the most dangerous countries for environmental defenders.
- Indigenous peoples, representing only about 6% of the global population, account for over one third of those attacked.
The year 2024 alone saw 146 killings or disappearances. These were not isolated incidents, but the continuation of a decade-long trend, transforming acts of environmental stewardship into mortal hazards.
The Faces Behind the Numbers
The statistics obscure countless stories of courage and tragedy. The defenders killed or disappeared are not merely anonymous casualties — they are parents, community leaders, and passionate advocates fighting for ancestral homelands and the future of the planet. Their loss reverberates through their families, communities, and local ecosystems.
One example is Julia Chuñil, a 72-year-old Mapuche leader from Chile. After years fighting for her community’s land rights, she vanished in late 2023. Her disappearance cast a shadow of fear and suspicion over her community, as they searched for answers while forests were consumed and state protection remained elusive.
Who Are Environmental Defenders?
Broadly, these defenders include:
- Indigenous leaders and members defending ancestral lands
- Local community activists combating corporate or illegal land use
- Journalists, lawyers, and NGO staff exposing environmental crimes
- Scientists and conservationists working against biodiversity loss
For many, defending the environment is not a chosen career but an unavoidable response to threats against their homes, communities, and way of life. As Colombian defender Jani Silva noted, most do not choose this fight; it is forced upon them by existential threats.
Regional Patterns: Hotspots of Violence
While attacks on defenders occur globally, some regions are consistently deadlier, shaped by overlapping crises of resource extraction, state corruption, and impunity.
Latin America: A Region Under Siege
| Country | Total Documented Killings (since 2012) | Key Causes |
|---|---|---|
| Colombia | ~382 | Territorial disputes, armed group expansion, land grabbing |
| Brazil | ~342 | Amazon deforestation, agribusiness, land conflict |
| Mexico | High & rising | Mining, organized crime, Indigenous land claims |
| Guatemala | Significant | Hydroelectric projects, land reform |
| Philippines (not Latin America) | Very high | Logging, mining, paramilitary attacks |
Within Latin America:
- Colombia consistently ranks as the world’s most dangerous nation for environmental defenders, with armed groups exploiting the power vacuum left after guerrilla demobilizations. Local activists frequently find themselves caught in crossfires between paramilitaries, criminal syndicates, and powerful business interests.
- Brazil’s Amazon region remains a hotspot, with most deaths connected to illegal logging, land invasions, and violence against Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.
- Mexico and Guatemala experienced spikes in disappearances and killings linked to land reform struggles and mining or agricultural expansion.
What others are reading
Global Underreporting
The figures reported are universally considered underestimates. In many areas, killings are not systematically reported due to conflict, restricted press freedom, fear of retribution, and civil society suppression.
Root Causes: Why Are Environmental Defenders at Risk?
Analysis by Global Witness and other rights organizations highlights several interlocking drivers behind the violence:
- Land Disputes: Vast numbers of cases involve conflicts between local populations and powerful interests seeking to extract natural resources through mining, logging, agribusiness, or infrastructure projects.
- Organized Crime and Paramilitaries: Many assaults are carried out by organized criminal networks or hired militias acting in the interests of private or corporate actors.
- Legal Impunity: Weak and corrupt legal institutions rarely prosecute attackers, allowing the violence to continue unchecked.
- State and Corporate Hostility: Defenders are too often deemed obstacles by governments and corporations, rather than stewards or partners in sustainable stewardship.
- Criminalization and Legal Harassment: As killings attract international censure, governments increasingly turn to “non-lethal” tools — passing restrictive laws, laying spurious terrorism or tax charges, and imposing harsh sentences on peaceful protestors to chill dissent.
- Gendered and Sexual Violence: Though underreported, women defenders face compounded risks, including sexual assault and gender-specific repression.
Case Study: The Death of Chut Wutty
Chut Wutty, a celebrated activist from Cambodia, was killed during an investigation into illegal logging and land seizures, an incident that echoed globally. His murder catalyzed stronger efforts to systematically document and oppose attacks on environmental defenders worldwide.
Non-Lethal Forms of Repression
The past decade has also seen a disturbing rise in criminal and bureaucratic repression of defenders. Tactics include:
- Use of anti-terror and anti-riot laws to prosecute critics
- Slander and defamation campaigns to discredit activists
- Surveillance and digital harassment
- Sexual violence and threats, particularly against women
While not always deadly, these strategies isolate defenders, erode civil society space, and make community resistance even riskier.
Indigenous Defenders: Unprotected Frontliners
Indigenous communities, whose livelihoods, traditions, and cultures are inseparable from their territories, are disproportionately represented among victims.
- One in three defenders killed are Indigenous, despite their small share of the global population.
- Research shows Indigenous-owned and managed lands are more resilient to ecological damage and biodiversity loss.
- Violence against Indigenous defenders is especially acute in conservation hotspots like the Amazon, Southeast Asia, and Central Africa.
The Wider Impact: More Than Human Lives
The crisis facing environmental defenders is not simply a tragedy of lives lost — it signals protracted threats to the world’s most crucial ecosystems. When intimidation forces defenders into silence or exile, the forests, rivers, and wildlife they protect are left vulnerable to unregulated exploitation, accelerating global climate change and biodiversity collapse.
The Cycle of Impunity and Global Responsibility
According to the latest NGO reporting, the violence persists because governments and institutions fail to:
- Recognize defenders’ rights under international law
- Guarantee effective legal protection for those at risk
- Hold perpetrators accountable, often due to corruption or complicity
- Provide meaningful participation to communities in environmental decision-making
This is described as a “slow-moving war,” with each act of violence intended not just to remove an individual, but to deter entire communities from acting in their own and the planet’s defense.
Global Witness: Methodology and Challenges
Global Witness, the leading NGO documenting these cases, employs rigorous verification criteria. Their numbers reflect only well-documented cases, meaning the true death toll is likely higher. The complexity of data gathering in war zones, authoritarian countries, and remote regions remains a massive challenge.
Despite these barriers, annual reports have become a touchstone for policymakers, activists, and journalists seeking to track and address these deadly trends. But more independent monitoring is needed to expose the full scale of attacks and impunity.
Calls to Action: How Can the World Respond?
Experts and defenders alike have outlined key steps to reverse this deadly trend:
- Legal Reform: Enact and enforce laws that protect defenders, recognizing their work as vital both to human rights and environmental resilience.
- Ending Impunity: Investigate and prosecute perpetrators of violence, including those in the shadows or higher up the chain of command.
- Upholding Indigenous Land Rights: Secure land tenure for Indigenous and local communities, and involve them as partners, not obstacles, in conservation and development.
- International Solidarity: Pressure states and corporations to adopt zero-tolerance approaches to attacks against defenders and provide safe havens for those under threat.
- Civil Society Funding: Support grassroots organizations financially and institutionally to improve their capacity for self-defense, advocacy, and documentation.
Protecting environmental defenders is not just a moral imperative, but a strategic necessity for sustaining the natural systems humanity depends on. As lead investigator Laura Furones put it, this is “unspeakable violence” against people “defending life itself.”
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Who is considered an environmental defender?
A: An environmental defender is any individual or community acting to protect the environment, land, or natural resources. They may be Indigenous leaders, local activists, NGO staff, journalists, scientists, or lawyers.
Q: Which countries are most dangerous for defenders?
A: Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, and the Philippines regularly record the highest numbers of attacks and killings.
Q: Why are these attacks increasing?
A: Attacks rise where there are high-value natural resources, weak legal protections, rampant corruption, and increasing authoritarianism. Land and resource conflicts drive many incidents.
Q: What can be done to better protect defenders?
A: Strengthen and enforce legal protections, prosecute perpetrators, support Indigenous land claims, provide international support, and empower civil society watchdogs.
Q: Are there any positive trends?
A: While violence remains high, increased international attention and solidarity, growing legal recognition of defenders’ rights, and better documentation have pressured some governments and corporations toward reforms. More action is urgently needed across all fronts.
References
- https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/146-environmental-defenders-were-killed-or-disappeared-last-year/
- https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/decade-defiance/
- https://dialogue.earth/en/justice/379339-latin-america-remains-the-deadliest-region-for-environmental-defenders/
- https://www.worldlandtrust.org/news/2023/10/report-environmental-defenders/
- https://www.projectcensored.org/deadly-decade-for-environmental-activists/
Similar Articles
Read full bio of Sneha Tete
