The fight to protect the environment continues to claim lives at an alarming rate. According to Global Witness’ latest report, nearly 200 environmental defenders were killed in 2023 alone, bringing the total number of killings since 2012 to 2,106. These individuals were targeted for protecting their lands and communities from ecological devastation.
“As the climate crisis accelerates, those who use their voice to courageously defend our planet are met with violence, intimidation, and murder,” said Laura Furones, the report’s lead author and senior adviser to the Land and Environmental Defenders Campaign at Global Witness. “Our data shows that the number of killings remains alarmingly high, a situation that is simply unacceptable.”
Colombia once again emerged as the most dangerous country for environmental defenders, with 79 individuals murdered in 2023—the highest number of deaths recorded in any country in a single year since Global Witness began tracking these incidents. Despite promises by Colombia’s left-wing President Gustavo Petro to protect activists, the situation on the ground has worsened.
Colombia will host the 16th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in October, presenting what Global Witness calls a “historic opportunity” to stand up for the rights of environmental activists. However, it is unclear how effective these efforts will be in the face of persistent violence.
Latin America continues to be the deadliest region for environmental defenders, accounting for 85% of the killings in 2023. In addition to Colombia, other countries topping the list for murders were Brazil, Honduras, and Mexico, which together made up 70% of all killings. Honduras had the highest number of killings per capita, a troubling pattern that has persisted for more than a decade.
“It is the job of leaders to listen and make sure that defenders can speak out without risk,” Furones emphasized.
The Philippines ranked as the fifth deadliest country for environmental defenders, with 17 reported murders in 2023. Since 2012, nearly 500 people have been killed in Asia for defending their land and the environment. The report noted that the situation in the Philippines is particularly dire, as it remains the deadliest country in the region.
In Africa, Global Witness recorded four deaths in 2023, but acknowledged that this is likely a “gross underestimate” due to a lack of available data on killings across the continent.
While Global Witness cannot always definitively link murders to specific industries, many deaths are associated with land conflicts and resistance to environmental harm. In Colombia, the report estimates that half of the defenders killed were targeted by organized criminal elements. Mining operations were the leading industry connected to the deaths, with 25 murders linked to opposition against mining projects.
Other industries implicated in the killings included logging (5 deaths), fishing (5), agribusiness (4), roads and infrastructure (4), and hydropower (2).
The rush for critical minerals, driven by the global shift towards renewable energy, has exacerbated violence against defenders, particularly in Indigenous communities. Almost half of the minerals necessary for the energy transition are located on or near Indigenous or peasant land.
Indigenous defenders, who are often at the frontlines of these conflicts, have borne the brunt of the violence. Jenifer Lasimbang, an Indigenous Orang Asal woman from Malaysia and executive director of Indigenous Peoples of Asia Solidarity Fund, described the growing environmental toll on her community.
“In Malaysia, as in many other countries, we Indigenous Peoples have been subject to wave after wave of destruction. First came the logging and oil palm companies. As a result, nearly 80% of the land surface in Malaysian Borneo has been cleared or severely damaged,” Lasimbang said.
Lasimbang highlighted the environmental cost of extracting rare minerals for the green economy, saying, “We know what this new ‘green rush’ means for us. We know it’s going to get worse while demand for resources remains high.”
Despite these hardships, Indigenous leaders like Lasimbang are not opposed to development. Instead, they call for a reimagined, more sustainable global system. “There is only really one thing left to say: Trust us. Let us lead. We will take you with us,” Lasimbang urged.
The report also underscored the growing repression of environmental activism in wealthier nations. Governments in the U.K., U.S., and E.U. have increasingly criminalized protest through anti-protest legislation. In the U.K., the Public Order Act was expanded in 2023 to prosecute protesters disrupting national infrastructure. The U.S. has passed over 20 “critical infrastructure” laws targeting protests against fossil fuel projects, while E.U. countries have introduced similar measures.
These laws have not only criminalized activism but have, at times, turned deadly. In January 2023, U.S. police shot and killed 26-year-old defender Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as Tortuguita who was protesting the construction of a “Cop City” training facility in Georgia.
Global Witness has called on governments and businesses to document attacks on environmental defenders and hold perpetrators accountable. “Governments cannot stand idly by; they must take decisive action to protect defenders and to address the underlying drivers of violence against them,” Furones said.
Nonhle Mbuthuma, a South African defender and Goldman Environmental Prize winner, concluded: “Now it is my role, as a defender, to push elite power to take radical action that swings us away from fossil fuels and toward systems that benefit the whole of society. It is the job of leaders to listen and make sure that defenders can speak out without risk.”
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