A new report identifies Colombia and Brazil as the world's most dangerous nations for environmental activists, highlighting a high death toll among indigenous defenders.
The global fight to protect natural resources and ancestral lands remains a perilous endeavor, with recent data highlighting a stark concentration of violence in Latin America. According to a comprehensive report from Global Witness, the region has solidified its status as the most dangerous place on Earth for environmental and land defenders. This trend has persisted consistently since the organization began tracking these incidents in 2012, underscoring systemic challenges that activists face when challenging powerful interests.
During the most recent reporting period, at least 124 activists were murdered worldwide for their efforts to protect the environment. Of those victims, an overwhelming 85% were located within Latin American borders. These figures reflect a broader pattern of intimidation and lethal force used to silence those who stand in the way of land exploitation, illegal resource extraction, and corporate or criminal expansion into protected territories.
For the fourth consecutive year, Colombia has been identified as the deadliest country globally for environmental campaigners. The report documented 39 murders within its borders, a figure that highlights the extreme risks faced caught in the crossfire of complex territorial conflicts, often involving illegal armed groups that seek to control land for illicit activities, such as coca production or unauthorized mining operations.
Brazil has also seen a troubling surge in violence, with the number of recorded killings of environmental defenders doubling compared to the previous year. Similar to the situation in Colombia, the violence in Brazil is largely driven ve regions. This escalation in South America's largest nation serves as a grim indicator that current protective measures are struggling to contain the influence of criminal networks and land-grabbers.
Indigenous communities remain the most disproportionately affected demographic in this ongoing crisis. In Colombia, nearly half of the victims identified in the study were members of indigenous groups, while the remainder largely consisted of small-scale farmers. These individuals are often the primary stewards of the land, serving as the first line of defense against deforestation and environmental degradation.
To combat these threats, many indigenous communities have established unarmed protection networks, often referred to as indigenous guards. These groups patrol their ancestral territories to monitor for illegal activity and protect their resources. However, this activism often makes them direct targets for armed groups. The recent tragic death of Jacob Guachetá Zambrano, an indigenous guard in Colombia’s Cauca region who was found tortured, illustrates the extreme risks these protectors face while attempting to safeguard their heritage and environment.
While the report indicates a slight reduction in the number of globally documented killings—dropping from 146 to 128 over the last two years—experts emphasize that these figures likely represent a significant undercount. Many incidents of violence, threats, and forced disappearances go unreported due to fear of retaliation, lack of access to legal systems, or the remote nature of the regions where these crimes occur. Consequently, the actual death toll for those standing up for the planet is likely much higher than the documented statistics suggest.
Outside of the Latin American theater, the Philippines has emerged as a significant point of concern, leading the list of nations in Asia with 12 documented murders. The persistence of these crimes underscores a global failure to provide adequate legal protections for those who risk their lives to prevent climate change, protect water sources, and preserve biodiversity. As long as land remains a primary target for illicit gain, the cycle of violence against environmental defenders is expected to continue unabated.
