227 people died defending the environment in 2020; 95 in Colombia and Mexico

Daughter of Berta Cáceres sees more harassment against environmentalists 2:31

(CNN) -

Behind the veil of the covid-19 pandemic, 227 people died last year protecting forests, water and other natural resources under increasing pressure from climate change, making 2020 the Deadliest year on record for environmental defenders, according to a report released Monday.

Human rights and environment watchdog Global Witness collected and analyzed 2020 data from around the world on lethal attacks on environmental defenders and found that an average of more than four people per week died while defending the environment.

Global Witness reported that most of the deaths occurred in Latin America.

Colombia was the most affected country, the group said, with 65 defenders killed for protecting indigenous lands or defending forests and their coca crops.

Mexico, where a third of the attacks were related to deforestation, ranked second with 30 deaths.

The Philippines was the only country outside the region that recorded more than 15 deaths, Global Witness reported: 29 people died trying to stop mining, logging and dam projects.

Together, more than half of the attacks in 2020 took place in those three countries, according to Global Witness.

• Extreme drought and deforestation are heading the Amazon rainforest towards a terrible fire season

Family members of some victims described to Global Witness how lockdowns during the pandemic made it easier for defenders to be attacked in their own homes, for taking on governments and companies to protect the natural resources on which their communities depend.

The climate crisis is depleting natural resources.

Scientists said in August that the planet is warming much faster than previously thought.

Without rapid and deep cuts in fossil fuel emissions, communities can face irreversible changes to the ecosystems and natural resources they need.

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"2020 was supposed to be the year the world stopped, but our data shows that this did not translate into more security for those who defend our planet," Chris Madden, one of the report's authors, told CNN.

"It is clear that the irresponsible exploitation and greed that are driving the climate crisis is also having an increasingly violent impact on people," he added.

Climate change, as well as rampant urbanization and industry, have caused water shortages in many of these countries.

Along with the southwestern US, parts of Mexico, which ranked second on the list of countries with the highest number of murders, have been affected by the first water shortage in the Colorado River, which supplies about 40 million people in the western region, including Mexico.

• More than 400 social leaders were assassinated in Colombia since 2016, says Human Rights Watch

More than 70% of the attacks were against people defending forests, one of the planet's natural carbon sinks, from further deforestation and industrial development, according to Global Witness.

The agency says others were killed for protecting rivers, oceans and other coastal ecosystems.

The report found that logging is the largest sector associated with the majority of murder cases, with 23 in Brazil, Nicaragua, Peru and the Philippines collectively, followed by the fight for water rights and against the construction of dams and the mining.

And despite representing only 5% of the world's population, more than 30% of all fatal attacks targeted indigenous peoples in 2020. Global Witness documented them in Mexico, Central and South America, as well as the Philippines.

Environmental activists in Africa are also experiencing the same violence, but researchers say they may not be reporting themselves.

Global Witness documented 18 deaths on the continent in 2020, a jump of just seven in 2019. Most of these attacks took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the rest in South Africa and Uganda.

The report found that more than 1 in 10 of the defenders killed in 2020 were women, reflecting a 2020 study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature that found that climate change and environmental degradation are fueling violence. against women.

"We know that beyond the killings, many defenders and communities also experience attempts to silence them, with tactics such as death threats, surveillance, sexual violence or criminalization," the authors wrote.

"These types of attacks are even worse reported."

Adrien Salazar, Policy Director for the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, said the report's findings also reflect what is happening in the US, where police are cracking down on indigenous organizers protesting the expansion of the infrastructure of fossil fuels such as the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota.

• Trump's wall has damaged the environment on both sides of the border, activists denounce and UNESCO calls for a halt to construction

"Activists in the global north face increased criminalization, while environmental defenders in the global south face an increasing risk of death," Salazar, who was not involved in the report, told CNN.

"It is outrageous, but not surprising, that killings of environmental defenders have increased again," he added.

"As this new report shows, these defenders, and indigenous environmental defenders in particular, are putting their lives at risk to protect our future."

Global Witness researchers analyzed national and international data sets that list attacks on environmental defenders, search engine alerts, news sources, and information from dozens of local, national, and regional organizations around the world.

They also examined data in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

While Global Witness has been documenting environmental attacks around the world since 2012, the group noted that they may be underestimating the deaths, as many parts of the world do not have a free press and independent monitoring of the attacks.

• 1 billion children in the world are at "extremely high risk" of suffering the effects of the climate crisis, warns UNICEF

The authors, as well as Salazar, warn that as the climate crisis intensifies, so do attacks against those trying to stop it.

"As the climate crisis and ecological devastation accelerates, the corporations perpetrating these crises will be relentless in pursuit of their profits even above the cost of human life," Salazar said.

"Every life and every story matters. As long as the violence against the land continues, the resistance will continue."

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