Environmental group Global Witness says at least 227 people died last year defending their homes, land and livelihoods from environmental exploitation, as the deep climate crisis increasingly confronts economic interests with local communities.
LONDON – Last year at least 227 people died defending their homes, land and livelihoods from environmental exploitation, as the deepening climate crisis increasingly confronts economic interests with local communities, according to data compiled by environmental group Global Witness.
The total is the highest since Global Witness began collecting information on attacks on “environmentalists” in 2012. Nearly a third of the deaths were related to resource exploitation, such as mining, logging and dam projects.
“It has become clear that the inexplicable exploitation and greed that lead to the climate crisis is also driving violence against land and environmental advocates,” Global Witness said in publishing its report.
All but one of the deaths occurred in developing countries in the southern hemisphere, where authorities have refused to curb logging, mining and industrial development, the group said. More than half took place in just three countries: Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines. Colombia recorded the highest number of deaths for the second year in a row, with 65. Mexico recorded 30 and the Philippines 29.
The findings of Global Witness are horrific but to be expected, said Mary Lawlor, the independent expert on UN human rights defenders, who has conducted similar investigations.
“Corruption in criminal justice systems too often protects governments and companies responsible for these killings and the culprits are rarely brought to justice,” he told The Associated Press. “Until the political will to stop these killings is found, until this corruption is rooted, we are likely to see hundreds more murders of human rights defenders, including many defending the environment.”
The threat to environmentalists has steadily increased since the first Global Witness report in 2012, when 147 murders were counted worldwide.
“They are at risk because they are living in or near something a company demands,” wrote Bill McKibben, one of the lead authors of climate change and an academic residing at Middlebury College in Vermont, in a lead in the report. “Suite C rarely accepts accountability. But companies need to be more responsible and they need to act. ”
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