Environmental killings aremurders,assassinations, or otherunlawful killings which are linked toenvironmental issues such asillegal logging,mining,land grabbing,pollution etc. Victims have included not onlyenvironmental andland rightsactivists, but also members ofindigenous communities andjournalists who have reported on these issues.[1][2][3]
In 2003, theEnvironmental Justice Foundation reported that in at least 11 countries people had been murdered for opposingshrimp farming and its associatedenvironmental impacts.[4]
According toGlobal Witness, the number of environmental killings worldwide reached 147 in 2012, and the total number of such murders between 2002 and 2013 exceeds 908.[1] In only six of these cases were the killers tried, convicted and punished. The report blames this level of impunity, together with the lack of attention to the issue, for the rise in the numbers of deaths.
In March 2014, when the United Nations Independent Expert on human rights and the environment, John Knox, presented his first detailed report to theUN Human Rights Council on the human rights obligations relating toenvironmental protection he stated: “Environmental human rights defenders deserve no less protection than other human rights defenders.”[5][6]
Following is a list of the victims of environmental killings by date:
| Date | Activist name | Country | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 8, 1905 | Guy Bradley | United States | Birds protection[7] |
| November 3, 1942 | Ernest Gibbins | Uganda | Entomologist killed by tribesmen |
| July 31, 1977 | Vital Michalon | France | killed by police in a demonstration against the fast breeder nuclear reactor at Malville |
| June 3, 1979 | Gladys del Estal | Spain | Anti-nuclear ecologist activist killed by a Civil Guardsman during a demonstration against a nuclear power plant and an aircraft firing range. |
| July 21, 1980 | Wilson Pinheiro | Brazil | Preservation of theAmazon rainforest |
| May 13, 1985 | John Africa, Rhonda Africa, Theresa Africa, Frank Africa, Conrad Africa, Tree Africa, Delisha Africa, Netta Africa, Little Phil Africa, Tomaso Africa, and Raymond Africa | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Police bombing of MOVE (racial and environmental justice) organization headquarters |
| July 10, 1985 | Fernando Pereira | New Zealand | Protest against nuclear testing |
| c. December 26, 1985 | Dian Fossey | Rwanda | Mountain gorilla conservationist |
| April 6, 1987 | Vicente Cañas | Brazil | Protection ofEnawene Nawe people land |
| December 22, 1988 | Chico Mendes | Brazil | Preservation of theAmazon rainforest |
| August 20, 1989 | George Adamson | Kenya | Conservationist most recognized for his work on lions |
| 1 September 1990 | Seub Nakhasathien | Thailand | Suicide to signify the importance of the environment |
| February 6, 1995 | Jeannette Kawas | Honduras | Protests again palm plantations and dams |
| November 10, 1995 | Ken Saro-Wiwa | Nigeria | nonviolent campaign againstenvironmental degradation caused bycrude oil extraction |
In the 21st century, more than 1000 environmental activists have been killed.[citation needed] Every year, more than 100 environmental activists are murdered throughout the world.[8] 116 environmental activists were assassinated in 2014.[9] More than two environmentalists were assassinated every week in 2014 and three every week in 2015.[10][11] 185 environmental activists were assassinated in 2015.[12] More than 200 environmental activists were assassinated worldwide between 2016 and 2018.[13] In 2019 and 2020 the number was 212[14][15] and 227[16][17] respectively.
| Date | Activist name | Country | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 17, 2003 | Jane Tipson | Saint Lucia | Conservationist andanimal rights activism. |
| 12 February 2005 | Dorothy Stang | Brazil | Preservation of theAmazon rainforest |
| 13 January 2006 | Joan Root | Kenya | Anti-poaching task force |
| 2010 | Leonard Co | Philippines | Botanist and plant taxonomist shot by the military during a biodiversity project in a forest. |
| January 24, 2011 | Gerry Ortega | Philippines | Crocodile farming, anti-corruption, sustainable ecotourism, and anti-mining advocate. |
| May 24, 2011 | José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva | Brazil | Preservation of theAmazon rainforest |
| 16 August 2011 | Shehla Masood | India | RTI and environmental activism |
| 26 April 2012 | Chut Wutty | Cambodia | Critic of the military's alleged role inillegal logging |
| 11 September 2012 | Hang Serei Odom | Cambodia | Reports aboutillegal logging industry |
| 13 March 2013 | Perween Rahman | Pakistan | Reports aboutillegal logging industry |
| May 31, 2013 | Jairo Mora Sandoval | Costa Rica | Protection ofleatherback turtle nests |
| April 9, 2015 | Gregory "Gibby" Leonard Gibbard | Zimbabwe | Protection ofAfrican painted dogs[18] |
| 25 August 2015 | Raimundo Santos Rodrigues (and his wife) | Brazil | Environmental rights defender.[19][20][21] |
| 11 November 2015 | Lkhagvasumberel (Sumbee) Tumursukh | Mongolia | Snow leopard conservationist |
| 13 October 2016[22] | Luiz Alberto Araújo | Brazil | Secretary for the environment onAltamira city council |
| 3 March 2016 | Berta Cáceres | Honduras | Protests against the construction of Agua Zarca Dam. |
| 16 August 2017 | Wayne Lotter | Tanzania | Wildlife conservationist |
| 4 February 2018 | Esmond Bradley Martin | Kenya | Elephants and ivory trade |
| 2 November 2019 | Paulo Paolino Guajajara | Brazil | Amazon Protector |
| January 2020 | Homero Gómez González | Mexico | Environmental activist, agricultural engineer, and politician. El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Preserve |
| October 2020 | Fikile Ntshangase | South Africa | Environmental activist involved in a legal dispute over the extension of an opencast mine operated byTendele Coal nearHluhluwe–Imfolozi Park, the oldest nature reserve in Africa. |
| 26 July 2022 | Anton Mzimba | South Africa | Timbavati Private Nature Reserve ranger |
| 18 January 2023 | Manuel Esteban Paez Terán | United States | Environmental activist involved inStop Cop City social movement to prevent construction of theCop City by theAtlanta Police Foundation and theCity of Atlanta. |
| 29 September 2023 | Quinto Inuma Alvarado | Peru | Tribal leader who opposed illegal logging in his community[23] |
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