Protest against the murder of Berta Caceres, environmental activist from Honduras in 2016. Wikimedia Commons. All Rights Reserved.
A total of some 207 land and environmental defenders were killed in 2017, according to Global Witness’s new report. Nearly 60% of those killings took place in Latin America, making it the deadliest year on record for this community. The report underscores how shifting organized crime dynamics put environmental defenders at greater risk.
Brazil recorded the largest number of killings in the region with 57, while Colombia and Mexico recorded the next highest with 24 and 15, respectively, according to the report. Mexico and Peru saw “marked increases” in killings between 2016 and 2017 as their number jumped 400% in Mexico, and 300% in Peru.
