WORLD 26/09/16 Environmental defenders face increasing threats, criminalization i

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At least 124 land and environmental defenders killed in Latin America, Asia and Africa last year, reports Global Witness

Fransiskus Sima, an indigenous Dayak farmer, was part of peaceful demonstrations to defend the Sabar Bubu hill in Indonesia, following the destruction of the forest by corporate land clearance. (Photo: Adi Renaldi/Global Witness)

By UCA News reporter

Published: September 16, 2026 12:06 PM GMT

Updated: September 16, 2026 12:15 PM GMT

Land and environmental defenders across the world continue to face killings, intimidation, criminalization, and restrictions on their work, including in Asia, according to the latest report from a global watchdog.

At least 124 land and environmental defenders were killed last year, bringing the total documented killings and disappearances to 2,375 between 2012 and 2025, says a new report by Global Witness, an international non-governmental organization that investigates environmental and human rights abuses.

Latin America has been ranked as the deadliest region for environmental defenders every year since the organization started publishing its annual report in 2012. The region recorded 85 percent of the killings in 2025.

More than three-quarters of those killed were small-scale farmers, indigenous peoples or Afro-descendant peoples, the report said. Killings took place across Latin America, Asia and Africa.

Colombia recorded the highest number of killings, with 39, and ranked the deadliest country for land and environmental defenders for the fourth consecutive year. About half of those killed were indigenous peoples.

Brazil recorded 26 killings, more than double the figure from the previous year.

Honduras and the Philippines recorded 12 killings each, followed by Mexico (10) and Guatemala (8).

More than half of the killings in 2025 were related to land disputes. Other factors included extractive and commercial interests (11), logging interests (8), and agribusiness (6).

Globally, more than one-third of killings were linked to organized crime or hitmen. Actors linked to organized crime were identified as perpetrators in cases across multiple countries.

While documented killings were lower in Asia, the 150-page report highlights the widespread criminalization and intimidation of defenders across the continent.

Such criminal allegations, which are often amplified via smear campaigns on social media, aim to discredit environmental defenders, casting them as criminals and instigators rather than a frontline defense, it added.

Across regions, indigenous peoples and small-scale farmers were highly targeted. Global Witness documented the killing of 44 indigenous people in 2025, including seven indigenous guards.

The report documented how communities across multiple countries use collective protection mechanisms as part of their long-standing defense of their territories, rights and livelihoods.

This includes territorial patrols, early warning systems, community monitoring networks and community capacity building, which are supported by rich cultural and often spiritual practices.

Collective protection recognizes that land and environmental defenders are rarely targeted as isolated individuals and challenges the limitations of an individual, reactive protection approach, as collective protection is mostly preventive and life-affirming, the report said.

The attacks on land and environmental defenders reveal a broader struggle over the world’s land and resources, said Toby Hill, land and environmental defenders investigator and lead author of the report.

“Defenders are the world’s eyes and ears on the ground. It’s thanks to them that we know when ecosystems are being destroyed, when forests are being cleared, or when rivers are being polluted. The violence that defenders face, including killings in the most extreme cases, reflects a much broader struggle over the world’s land and resources,” Hill said.

“But beyond these tragic stories, we can’t forget the thousands of defenders around the world who are working every day to protect their territories and cultures under increasing pressure,” he added.

In Asia, the report documents how accusations of criminal activity are being used to stigmatize the collective protection mechanisms that indigenous peoples use to defend their lands.

In Indonesia, for example, indigenous Dayak people who opposed a pulpwood producer’s activities on their land and the pollution of local water sources subsequently faced a series of criminal allegations that could carry years of imprisonment.