People protecting nature and land set up self-defence units amid threat of murder

Published 1w ago · Updated 1w ago

AI summary41s readNegative

Communities are taking security into their own hands as environmental defender killings reach alarming rates.

Environmental and land defenders faced a deadly crisis last year as killings averaged one every three days globally, driven heavily by organised crime and territorial encroachment. Colombia and Brazil emerged as the most dangerous nations for these activists, according to a report from the watchdog Global Witness. In response to the escalating violence and threats of murder, threatened communities have increasingly formed their own self-defence units.

Organised crime groups or professional killers were implicated in more than a third of the recorded defender killings.
Eighty-five percent of all recorded environmental defender deaths occurred in Latin America.
Colombia and Brazil were specifically identified as the deadliest countries for activists working to protect nature and land.

By the numbers

124killings of defenders

85percentage of deaths in Latin America

Why it matters

Global watchdogs track environmental defender mortality to highlight the lethal intersections of illegal resource extraction, drug trafficking, and indigenous rights violations.

What outlets agree on

Global Witness data shows that environmental defenders were killed at a rate of one every three days, with the vast majority of deaths occurring in Latin America.

Tune your feed

Reactions

In this story

Global WitnessColombiaBrazilLatin America

Covered by 2 outlets

50% of the sources are Left

50%50%

Lean ratings via Ad Fontes Media, AllSides

Are you a publisher? Tell us how we may use your content