2016 Saw 200 Killings of People Defending Their Land Against Destructive Industries E.A. Crunden - ThinkProgress
go to original July 20, 2017

Across the world people are being murdered, attacked and arrested for standing up to companies that want to take their land. A new Global Witness report has found that nearly four people a week were killed in 2016 fighting for their homes, their livelihoods and the land, forests and rivers we all depend on. (Global Witness)

Environmental work has never been more deadly.

There was a record number of environmental workers killed last year, according to a new report from Global Witness, an NGO watchdog working to tackle natural resource exploitation and human rights abuses. More than 200 environmental activists, many from indigenous tribes, were murdered in 2016, making it the deadliest year on record for people committed to tackling environmental issues. While emphasizing that the number was likely much higher, due to the difficulties presented in collecting data, the organization noted the staggering number’s implications.

“The fact that the upward curve of killings has continued…suggests that governments and business continue to prioritize short-term profit over human lives,” Global Witness campaigner Billy Kyte said.

Countries across Latin America remained by far the deadliest for activists protecting natural resources - some 60 percent of all killings reported took place in the region. Honduras, which has the highest per capita rate of activist killings over the past decade, also saw a high murder rate, with 14 activists killed. Neighboring Colombia recorded 37, an all-time high bringing the country second only to Brazil, where 49 deaths were reported. Brazil remains the most dangerous place for environmental activism, due in large part to clashes over the Amazon rainforest, where indigenous tribes are working to defend their land from developers and the government.

Global Witness noted that indigenous activists, almost 40 percent of those killed, suffer disproportionate risks, a fact that was underscored by several high-profile murders last year, predominantly in Honduras. Berta Cáceres, 44, an indigenous Honduran activist and co-founder of the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Honduras, or COPIHN was murdered in March 2016 after numerous death threats. Cáceres, who organized the Lenca people in a triumphant grassroots battle against the construction of the Agua Zarca Dam, was supposed to be under police protection. Security measures failed the activist, who was shot in her home.

Another member of COPIHN, Nelson García, 39, was killed outside of his home in Honduras a short time later. His death followed the police eviction of 150 families from lands in the northern village of Rio Chiquito. Lesbia Yaneth Urquía, an environmental activist in Marcala, Honduras and an opponent of hydroelectric development in the La Paz region, was murdered a few months later. While Latin America remains a dangerous place for environmental defenders, other regions also saw violence against environmental workers.

Download the full report: Defenders of the Earth (PDF)

Read the rest at ThinkProgress

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