An activist takes part in a protest against the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, at Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 25, 2019. Photo:Times
By Patryk Krych | The World Daily | SEPTEMBER 13th 2021
Last years, the number of recorded murders of environmentalists and land defenders had hit its record high, according to data released by the campaign group Global Witness. A mark of the growing restrictions being put upon civic freedoms.
In 2020, at least 227 people from all around the world had been murdered while trying to protect forests, water supplies and general ecosystems that they are dependant on. The highest recorded number of such deaths for a second consecutive year, according to Global Witness, who had released the shocking report recently.
“On average, our data shows that four defenders have been killed every week since the signing of the Paris climate agreement [in 2016],” read the report. “As the climate crisis deepens, forest fires rampage across swathes of the planet, drought destroys farmland, and floods leave thousands dead, the situation for frontline communities and defenders of the Earth is getting worse.”
Almost all of the murders had taken place in North America, Europe and Oceania, with only one of them having occurred outside. Despite account for only 5% of the world’s total population, more than a third of the killings had been suffered by the indigenous population.
“The attacks are on the rise,” warned Chris Madden, one of the authors of the report and a senior campaigner for Global Witness. “We are seeing that in multiple datasets around the world.”
The statistic of 227 murders is still thought to be an underestimate, due to the varying rules and laws on press freedom and civil rights across countries. For those trying to put up a resistance against mining, logging and agribusiness, South and Central America had been the deadliest in the previous years.
Madden added that: “This dataset is another stark reminder that fighting the climate crisis carries an unbearably heavy burden for some, who risk their lives to save the forests, rivers and biospheres that are essential to counteract unsustainable global warming. This must stop.”
South African Fikile Ntshangase, 65, was among the murdered individuals, having been shot dead in her own home. She had been involved over a major legal dispute that involved the extension of a mining operation, led by Tendele Coal near Somkhele in the KwaZulu-Natal province.
“To this day no arrests have been made in the investigation into my mother's murder,” said Ntshangase’s daughter, Malungelo Xhakaza, 31, “There has been no accountability. It seems to me that someone wants this mine expansion and the extraction to go ahead, no matter the cost.”
