An Environmental Defender Is Murdered Every Three Days

# Environmental Defenders Face Lethal Violence at Rising Rates Worldwide

A person defending nature dies every three days. Global Witness documented 124 killings of environmental defenders in 2025, establishing what researchers describe as an epidemic of violence against those protecting land, water, and forests from extraction and development.

The actual death toll runs higher. Researchers acknowledge the documented figure represents only a portion of total murders. Armed conflict, state repression, and weak judicial systems obscure many deaths in rural and remote areas where environmental defenders work. Countries with ongoing violence, weak rule of law, or hostile governments rarely report killings fully or accurately.

The victims include Indigenous people, small-scale farmers, and community organizers. These individuals typically work without weapons, security details, or international protection. They operate in places where extractive industries, illegal logging operations, and land-grabbing enterprises hold political sway. Defenders challenge dam projects, mining operations, palm oil plantations, and cattle ranching that destroy ecosystems and displace communities.

Global Witness has tracked these deaths for years, publishing annual reports that document the geography and patterns of violence. The organization names specific cases, countries, and industries responsible for creating conditions that lead to murder. Their research shows that defenders in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and parts of Africa face the highest risks. Countries like the Philippines, Colombia, and Brazil consistently appear in Global Witness reports as locations where environmental activists face systematic threats.

The United Nations has designated environmental defenders as a vulnerable group entitled to special protection under international human rights law. Yet enforcement remains weak. Few countries prosecute those responsible for murders of environmental defenders. Impunity enables continued violence. Communities lose experienced leaders. Ecosystems lose advocates with deep knowledge of local landscapes and species.

The violence correlates directly with the industries driving deforestation and pollution. Defenders who challenge fossil fuel extraction, mining, and large-scale agriculture face the greatest danger. These industries generate enormous profits and employ armed security forces, mercenaries, or work through government agencies to eliminate opposition. Corruption allows perpetrators to escape accountability. Witnesses fear retaliation. Evidence disappears.

Indigenous communities experience disproportionate targeting. Indigenous lands contain roughly 80 percent of remaining biodiversity on Earth, yet Indigenous peoples represent only 5 percent of the global population. When Indigenous defenders die protecting ancestral territories, biodiversity protection fails along with human rights. The knowledge systems and governance structures that Indigenous communities developed over centuries become harder to maintain when leaders face lethal threats.

The 2025 figures from Global Witness reflect intensifying pressure on nature defenders as governments accelerate extractive development to fund national budgets and corporations expand operations in pursuit of growth. Climate change increases competition for remaining resources, heightening conflicts. Development projects that damage ecosystems face increasingly organized resistance. Defenders who succeed in stopping or delaying projects become targets.

International human rights organizations and environmental groups have called for stronger protections, independent investigations into murders, and prosecution of perpetrators. The United Nations has issued statements condemning the violence. Yet structural change remains absent. Governments fail to prioritize the safety of environmental defenders. Industries face no serious consequences for threats and violence.

The death rate documents a broader failure. Societies have not yet created systems that protect those who defend nature while holding accountable those who destroy it.