Increasingly dangerous for environmentalists

A new report from the organization Global Witness shows that 212 land and environmental activists were killed worldwide in 2019. This is the highest number since the organization began collecting statistics in 2012. Since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, an average of four people have been killed every single week. This number is now increasing.

Local communities around the world are protesting against carbon-heavy industries and exposing unethical business practices that destroy ecosystems and livelihoods. They are the frontrunners in the climate fight, but it can be life-threatening to rise up against large and powerful interests.

Indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable and still run a disproportionate risk of reprisals. As many as 40 per cent of the victims in the statistics were indigenous peoples, despite the fact that indigenous peoples make up only five per cent of the earth's population. Two-thirds of the killings last year were committed in Latin America, and 33 deaths were in the Amazon region.

- Activists play a vital role in protecting ecosystems and the world's climate. It is abhorrent that the industries that are the worst drivers of environmental destruction allow fatal attacks on environmental activists, says Øyvind Eggen, Secretary General of Rainforest Foundation Norway.

Most environmental activists killed in Colombia

Colombia tops the list with 64 killings and accounts for almost a third of all killings of environmentalists in 2019. This is an increase of over 150 percent since last year's survey, and the highest ever measured by Global Witness. Half of the environmental activists killed in Colombia last year were indigenous peoples, who make up only 4.4 percent of the country's population.

Fear of threats and the fact that environmental activism might cost your life also leads many to refrain from raising their voices. This is something Angélica Ortiz of the Wayuu people of La Guajira, in northern Colombia, knows well. She is the Secretary General of Fuerza de Mujeres Wayuu and has been leading the protests against the large coal mining project El Cerrejon for a long time. In 2019 alone, she received six threats from paramilitary groups. She has asked the authorities for protection to no avail. Angélica Ortiz is among those who choose to continue the fight.

Despite the peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas in 2016, not everyone has laid down their arms. Local organizations report increased violence in recent years. Many of the conflicts are about land disputes.
- There follows an extra responsibility for Norway after being involved in the peace processes in Colombia for decades. Norway must intensify its efforts and ensure that human rights and environmental activists receive adequate protection, says Øyvind Eggen.

The attacks in Colombia have continued into 2020 and the quarantine during the corona pandemic makes environmentalists vulnerable alone in their homes.

The Rainforest Foundation has registered an increase in illegal deforestation in the world's rainforests during the corona pandemic. The quarantine has led to fewer public agencies monitoring illegal activities and land activists protecting the forest are even more vulnerable.