Nearly 200 people were killed in 2023 in environmental protests, with more than a third of the killings taking place in Colombia, a recent report shows.
According to the record of the NGO Global Witness, in 2023, an environmental activist was killed every two days – from activists who spoke out against mining projects to indigenous communities targeted by organized crime groups.
Colombia, Brazil, Mexico and Honduras were the deadliest countries for people trying to protect their lands and ecosystems, accounting for more than 70% of all recorded crimes.
“A simply unacceptable situation”
Global Witness said it was often difficult to pin down a direct driver of the crimes, with many going unpunished, but found that mining was the biggest driver last year, with 25 murders linked to the industry, according to .
“As the climate crisis accelerates, those who use their voices to bravely defend our planet are met with violence, intimidation and murder. Our data shows that the number of crimes remains alarmingly high, a situation that is simply unacceptable,” said Laura Furones, lead author of the report for Global Witness.
Of those killed in 2023, 43% were from . Almost 90% of those killed were men. Last year’s figures bring the total number of recorded killings to 2,106 since 2012, when Global Witness began reporting the data.
While Colombian President Gustavo Petro has pledged to end the violence, the numbers suggest he has so far been ineffective in stemming the violence.
According to the report, dozens of killings took place in the southwest of the country, where communities are often caught in the crossfire of violence related to drug trafficking and the cultivation of the coca plant.
