You turn to us for voices you won't hear anywhere else.

Sign up for Democracy Now!'s Daily Digest to get our latest headlines and stories delivered to your inbox every day.

Global Witness: Record Number of Environmental Activists Killed in 2020

HeadlineSep 13, 2021

A record number of environmentalists, land and water defenders were assassinated in 2020 — with advocates in the Global South disproportionately targeted with violence. That’s according to an annual report by Global Witness, which documented that at least 227 environmental activists were murdered last year. More than a third of the killings involved Indigenous leaders. Colombia, Mexico, the Philippines and Brazil recorded the most murders as local communities resist mines, deforestation and other destructive industries that contribute to the climate crisis. The report says, “As the climate crisis deepens, forest fires rampage across swathes of the planet, drought destroys farmland, and floods leave thousands dead, the situation for frontline communities and defenders of the Earth is getting worse.”

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top