Nature Defenders Face Rising Threats Amid Global Violence

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

People defending forests, rivers and Indigenous territories are facing continuing threats of violence, intimidation and murder, with communities in several countries increasingly organising local protection groups as criminal networks move deeper into environmentally sensitive areas. A new assessment cited by the independent watchdog Global Witness says 124 land and environmental defenders were killed in 2025, equivalent to roughly one death every three days.

The figures highlight the dangers faced by people attempting to protect land and natural resources from illegal logging, mining, drug trafficking and other forms of environmental exploitation. According to the assessment, Latin America accounted for 85% of the documented deaths, with Colombia, Brazil and Honduras recording the highest numbers in the region. The Philippines was identified as the country in Asia with the highest number of documented killings in the same period.

Global Witness has documented killings and disappearances of land and environmental defenders for more than a decade. Its methodology involves collecting and cross-checking information from local, national and regional organisations, although the organisation cautions that its figures are likely to underestimate the actual scale of violence because many incidents occur in remote areas, conflict zones or countries where reliable information is difficult to obtain.

The organisation’s previous annual reporting documented at least 146 land and environmental defenders killed or disappeared in 2024, bringing the total recorded since 2012 to 2,253 at that point. Global Witness said Latin America continued to account for the overwhelming majority of documented cases.

The latest figures cited in the report show that violence remained concentrated in countries where environmental protection intersects with land disputes, organised crime and competition over natural resources. Colombia recorded 39 killings in 2025, according to the figures supplied, followed by Brazil with 26 and Honduras with 12. The Philippines recorded 12 killings.

The pattern reflects the complicated relationship between environmental protection and criminal activity. Forests and remote territories can provide routes and operating areas for illegal mining, logging and drug trafficking networks. Communities attempting to prevent those activities may consequently find themselves confronting groups with significant financial interests in controlling territory.

Global Witness has previously documented links between violence against defenders and industries including mining, logging, agribusiness and other forms of resource extraction. Its research says defenders can face not only lethal attacks but also criminalisation, harassment, intimidation and online abuse.

Indigenous peoples and rural communities are particularly exposed. The material supplied for the latest report says almost three-quarters of the people killed in 2025 were Indigenous people or small-scale farmers who had been defending their land. Such communities can face pressure when criminal organisations, illegal resource operators or other outside groups attempt to establish control over territory.

One example highlighted is the Kakataibo Indigenous Guard in Peru’s Amazon region. According to the report, six community leaders have been killed since 2020 amid increasing incursions into their forest territory. The community organisation began with several dozen recruits in 2022 and has since expanded to more than 150 volunteers operating across 10 bases.

The emergence of such community organisations reflects the security concerns faced by people living in remote areas where state protection may be limited. Communities have sought ways to monitor their territories and raise alerts when unfamiliar groups enter their lands. Similar Indigenous protection organisations have existed in parts of Colombia and Brazil for years.

However, the increasing risks faced by people involved in territorial protection have also resulted in deaths among Indigenous guards themselves. According to the report cited, seven Indigenous guards were killed in 2025, with organised crime linked to at least five of those cases.

The situation is particularly serious in areas where drug-trafficking networks overlap with Indigenous territories. Along parts of the Peru-Brazil border, forest communities have reported increasing pressure from criminal groups. Indigenous leaders in the Brazilian state of Amazonas have previously called for greater government protection after armed men entered communities in circumstances that residents interpreted as threatening.

The Ucayali basin in Peru has also experienced significant changes associated with coca cultivation. The report cited by the Guardian says coca production increased by 600% between 2019 and 2023 in the region. Expansion of cultivation can generate demand for additional roads and trails, which can in turn facilitate movement through forest areas and increase pressure on communities attempting to protect their territories.

Corruption can further complicate the situation. Environmental and Indigenous defenders may find themselves confronting criminal organisations while also operating in areas where local institutions have limited resources or where officials are alleged to have links with traffickers. These conditions can make it more difficult for communities to obtain effective protection through formal institutions.

The consequences extend beyond individual communities. Forests and rivers protected by Indigenous and local communities often contain important ecosystems and biodiversity. When illegal roads, mining sites, logging operations or other activities expand into these areas, environmental damage can occur alongside the loss of land and traditional livelihoods.

Global Witness describes land and environmental defenders as people who take peaceful action to protect human rights, land and the environment. Its methodology includes cases where there is a reasonable suspected connection between a person’s activism and their killing or disappearance. The organisation also warns that its database provides only a partial picture because many cases remain undocumented.

The violence has also been accompanied by non-lethal forms of pressure. Environmental defenders can face arrest, legal proceedings, surveillance, threats, public smears and online harassment. Global Witness has reported that criminalisation is increasingly being used against defenders in parts of Asia. Its research covering India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam documented hundreds of arrests or detentions between 2018 and 2024 connected with land and environmental activism.

The issue is therefore broader than the number of people killed each year. Violence can discourage communities from reporting environmental destruction, participating in public debate or challenging activities that threaten their land. When defenders are intimidated or silenced, information about illegal activities can become harder for authorities, journalists and international organisations to obtain.

Global Witness has called for governments to protect defenders and to work with communities rather than increasing the pressures they face. Its research argues that better documentation of attacks and stronger mechanisms for protecting people who defend land and environmental rights are necessary to address the problem.

The organisation’s long-term data demonstrates that the problem has persisted across successive years. Its reporting recorded more than 2,200 killings or disappearances between 2012 and 2024, while acknowledging that the true number is likely higher because of gaps in reporting and verification.

The concentration of killings in Latin America has also remained a recurring feature of the data. In its 2024 reporting, Global Witness documented 117 defender killings in Latin America, representing 82% of the global total for that year. Colombia recorded 48 cases, the highest national figure in that dataset.

The continuing threats demonstrate how environmental protection can become inseparable from questions of land rights, Indigenous sovereignty, organised crime and public security. In remote territories, communities may be among the first to detect illegal deforestation, mining or other environmental damage, but that role can expose them to considerable personal risk.

For governments, the challenge is to provide effective protection without further marginalising the communities that are already working to safeguard their territories. This includes investigating attacks, strengthening the rule of law, protecting Indigenous land rights and ensuring that environmental defenders can report illegal activity without facing retaliation.

The figures also underline the wider environmental consequences of violence against defenders. When people protecting forests and rivers are threatened or killed, the impact is not limited to their families and communities. It can also affect the ability to monitor deforestation, pollution, illegal extraction and other forms of environmental destruction.

Global Witness has described land and environmental defenders as important sources of information about what is happening on the ground. Its research argues that protecting these individuals and communities is therefore closely connected to protecting ecosystems and addressing environmental and climate-related challenges.

As criminal networks continue to operate across borders and natural-resource conflicts intensify in some regions, Indigenous and rural communities are likely to remain exposed to competing pressures over land and resources. The latest figures provide another indication of the human cost of those conflicts and the difficulties faced by people seeking to protect the places where they live.

The central concern for governments and international organisations is now how to ensure that communities defending forests, rivers and traditional territories can carry out that work without facing violence or intimidation. For the people living in some of the world’s most environmentally important regions, protecting their land has increasingly become a struggle that carries profound personal and community risks.