On the International day of Democracy let's remember the lives of the environmental defenders

Since 2012, the organisation Global Witness has been gathering data on killings of land and environmental defenders. Their last report shows that, as the climate crisis intensifies, violence against those protecting their land and our planet also increases. In 2020, Global Witness counted 227 murdered land and environmental defenders – making it once again the most dangerous year on record for people defending their homes, land and livelihoods, and the ecosystems vital for biodiversity and the climate. The organisation also highlights how this number is most likely an underestimate with data lacking in many countries where there is no free press and high corruption for example. Beyond killings, many defenders and communities also experience attempts to silence them, death threats, surveillance, sexual violence... and these kinds of attacks are even less well reported. Some more key findings: > Colombia was once again the country with the highest recorded attacks, with 65 defenders killed in 2020. A third of these attacks targeted indigenous and afro-descendant people > Nicaragua saw 12 killings – rising from 5 in 2019, making it the most dangerous country per capita for land and environmental defenders in 2020. > Defenders were attacked for protecting particular ecosystems, the majority was working to defend the world’s forests from deforestation and industrial development. Others died for their work protecting rivers, coastal areas and the oceans. Logging was the sector linked to the most murders with 23 cases. No one should be killed for trying to defend our planet. Read more: https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/last-line-defence/