What’s going on here?
A recent report published by the NGO Global Witness provides details of the staggering 196 victims who were killed in 2023 while defending their land, their rights or our environment.
What does this mean?
All over the world, activists and campaigners face extreme challenges when opposing powers seeking to exploit the environment. In some tragic cases this unfortunately leads to the loss of human life.
Global Witness has published the names and nationalities of those who lost their lives last year, though the organisation also acknowledges that there were likely to be many more undocumented deaths. Colombia is the most deadly country, according to the data, with more than one third of the deaths taking place there.
Along with Brazil, Honduras and Mexico, these four countries accounted for the deaths of 70% of the people documented in the report. Global Witness also found that of those killed in 2023, 43% were from indigenous communities. Of that proportion, 90% were male.
Why should we care?
The reasons why the people named in the report were killed was often hard to identify, according to Global Witness. However, mining was found to be a leading cause, accounting for 25 of those killed.
That such a high proportion of the people killed were from indigenous communities highlights the fact that these are the most threatened and least defended people in the fight to preserve the natural environment. Global Witness points out that the violence against indigenous people happens as a result of the rush to claim land. This land is then used for the purposes of generating wealth – for extraction or cultivation purposes including agriculture, minerals and timber.
This violence – against indigenous individuals speaking out against projects aimed at generating energy or the extraction of minerals – highlights a key dynamic being fueled by the climate crisis. More than half of minerals required to facilitate the transition to a low carbon economy are found on or near to land on which indigenous people depend. As the world seeks to transition to a low carbon economy, the pursuit of the resources needed will continue to impact indigenous people unless more is done to protect them.
Be curious
- Read our previous articles related to this story: Indigenous leaders call for policies to end ‘green colonialism’ (Jonny Wilkinson) and Stories from the Frontline: “The Fight for Life” – The Indigenous Resistance in Brazil (Jessica Kleczka).
- Read about Bruno Pereira and Dom Philips, who were killed when researching conservation efforts in the Amazon region – from the Guardian.
Photo by Berend Leupen on Unsplash
