More than 200 environmental and land activists have been killed on 2021, according to a report from non-government organization monitoring these kinds of incidents worldwide.
Global Witness, a nongovernmental organization working for a more sustainable planet, released a report detailing the number of environment and land activists who were killed for protecting the environment in 2021.
Per the report, about 200 activists were killed, and 54 of them are from Mexico. Overall, more than three-quarters of the deaths have been recorded in Latin America. Countries from other continents, such as the Philippines in Asia, have also recorded some activist deaths.
Global Witness noted that the total number of recorded killings result to about four deaths a week. These killings appear to be conducted by people in high places or those with connections in governments.
"These lethal attacks continue to take place in the context of a wider range of threats against defenders who are being targeted by government, business and other non-state actors with violence, intimidation, smear campaigns and criminalisation," the NGO said.
Mexico saw 24 more killings in 2021 compared to 30 in 2020. About 40% of those who were killed belonged to indigenous groups such as the Yaqui community. More than a third of the total deaths were forced disappearances.
Brazil and India saw an increase in the killings year-on-year, with the former from 20 in 2020 to 26 in 2021, and the latter from 4 to 14.
On the other hand, Colombia and the Philippines, saw a decrease in the killings year-on-year, with the former recording 65 deaths in 2020 and 33 in 2021, and the latter recording 30 in 2020 and 19 in 2021.
Colombia and the Philippines are among the countries with the highest number of killings since 2012.
Overall, three-fourths of all killings were recorded in Latin America-78% of all attacks in Brazil, Peru and Venezuela took place in the Amazon.
Killings Linked to Resources
The report indicated that for sectors that could be identified, over a quarter of all killings were linked to resource exploitation. These sectors include logging, mining, and large-scale agribusiness.
Of these, mining was linked to the most number of killings (27 cases of lethal attacks). Most of these attacks occurred in Mexico, followed by the Philippines, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador.
According to the NGO, of the 200-something who were killed, 50 were small-scale farmers who are threatened by large-scale plantations, commodification, land privatisation, and export-led agriculture.
It's also important to note that about 1 in every 10 of those who were killed around the world were women.
