“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”...

In late April 2025, after 41-year-old farmer Oussama Farhat was discharged from the hospital, two pieces of shrapnel still lodged in his body, he hurried to check on an injured red fox. In his southern Lebanon village of Meiss el-Jabal, Farhat, a volunteer with the environmental organization Green Southerners, had helped rescue the cub from beneath the rubble of ongoing Israeli air strikes — the same kind that has decimated southern Lebanon and its people for the past three years. Now, the young fox was curled atop a starry blanket, its outstretched leg wrapped in a blue bandage. In a message to Hisham Younes, the founder and president of Green Southerners, Farhat wrote that the fox cub would soon be ready for release. Concerned, Younes replied: “Oussama, where are you?” A member of the Lebanese Civil Defense, Farhat had been injured on April 25, 2025, after he and a fellow volunteer went to check for casualties unknowingly halfway through an Israeli double-tap strike — a tactic where an attack is followed by a second in the same location. In the days following October 7, 2023, Hezbollah, an armed group and political party formed in response to Israel’s 1982 invasion of...

At least 146 land and environmental defenders were killed or disappeared* around the world last year defending their land, communities or the environment, a new report by Global Witness reveals. Today the investigative organisation published its annual report on land...

As a ‘spy cop’, Bob Lambert callously betrayed innocent women. The official inquiry must ask harsh questions of him – and the state, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Environmental and Indigenous rights defenders remained among the world’s most targeted human rights advocates in 2025, despite landmark rulings by international courts affirming governments’ obligations to protect both the environment and those who defend it. At least 358 human rights defenders were killed last year, according to a report released last week by Front Line Defenders, a Dublin-based group that provides support for global human rights activists. Nearly a quarter, 84, were targeted because of their often unpaid work protecting land and the environment. Those killings were documented in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Peru, Philippines, Turkey, Somalia and Palestine. Indigenous-rights defenders—often working on environmental issues but tracked separately from environmental defenders—accounted for another 17 percent of the killings documented by the group. Beyond the killings, even more defenders faced threats and attacks ranging from surveillance and smear campaigns to arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture and killings. There were nearly 4,000 non-lethal attacks on human rights defenders across 119 countries last year, a figure that includes multiple violations against the same individual in some cases, according to the report. That number is likely a vast undercount, the authors said, because many attacks go unreported—and their perpetrators...

Just two South American countries – Colombia and Brazil – accounted for 52% of the 2025 killings In Asia, defenders are facing a rising tide of criminalisation and intimidation Globally, more than three quarters of those killed were small-scale farmers, Indigenous Peoples or Afro-descendant peoples. Indigenous Peoples accounted for 44 of the killings documented in 2025. Land disputes triggered more than half of the killings documented in 2025 At least 124 land and environmental defenders were killed in 2025, bringing the total documented killings and disappearances since 2012 to 2,375, reveals a new report by Global Witness published on 16 September 2026 Of all killings documented in 2025, 85% took place in Latin America, which has ranked as the world’s deadliest region for environmental defenders every year since Global Witness began publishing its annual report in 2012. Globally, more than three-quarters of those killed were small-scale farmers, Indigenous Peoples or Afro-descendant Peoples. Killings took place across Latin America, Asia and Africa. Colombia, for the fourth consecutive year, was the world’s deadliest documented country for defenders, with 39 killings, nearly half of whom were Indigenous. The second deadliest was Brazil, where 26 defenders were killed in 2025, more than double the...

Latin America accounted for 85% of all verified killings of environmental defenders in 2025, with Colombia topping the list. — At least 124 land and environmental defenders were killed last year for standing up to protect their lands and livelihoods from destruction, a new report has revealed. This represents a decrease from 2024, when Global Witness, the environmental watchdog behind Wednesday’s report, documented 142 killings and four disappearances, and from 2023, when it verified 196 killings. Since it began gathering data in 2012, the NGO was able to verify and report on 2,375 killings globally, although each year it warns that the figures are likely a “significant underestimate,” as many cases go unreported. Environmental defenders play a crucial role in protecting the environment and defending key forests, habitats and ecosystems. Indigenous people alone steward around 20% of the Earth’s land, which contains 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity. Of all defenders murdered last year, 43% were Indigenous people and 12% were women. Latin America accounted for 85% of all killings last year. Weak legal protections, high levels of corruption, and intense conflicts over land and resource exploitation make the region one of the most dangerous to operate in for environmental...

The first edition of the European Forum on Environmental Human Rights Defenders, held on June 3 and 4, 2026, in Strasbourg, France, brought together environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) from across the Council of Europe’s 46 member states. The Forum gave them a safe space to tell their stories and discuss protections in a world that is not always kind to them. It was unique in this way, providing defenders with a place to be vulnerable and speak about the challenges they’ve faced while trying to protect the environment and humanity. Following the event, Impakter had the pleasure of interviewing three inspiring defenders involved in the Forum: Sara Tuševljak, who co-chaired the event, Louisa Tyrrell, a speaker on behalf of defenders, and Anna Trevisan, who took part as an attendee. Despite coming from different countries and having different reasons to act, these three EHRDs came together at the beginning of June to share their stories and fight for change. Each defender we interviewed expressed a similar message of hope. Hope that their voices would be heard. Hope that more people would join the fight. Hope that they would not stand alone. Hope for the future. These are their thoughts and...

In memory This report is dedicated to all those individuals, communities and organisations bravely speaking out or taking action to defend their rights to land and a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Last year, 124 people were murdered for doing this work. We acknowledge that the names of many defenders who were killed last year may be missing, and we may never know how many more gave their lives to protect our planet. We honour their work too. Colombia (39) Aida Damaris Flor Camayo Alberto Quitumbo Yatacué Astrid Viviana Ordoñez Arcos Carmelo Guerrero Reyes Célimo Hurtado Bulgara Cristian Fernando Guanga Darli Lucía Arcia Anaya Edgar Tumiñá Gembuel Eduardo Campo Chá Elizabeth Mojica Nieves Erik Anderson Menza Paví Ernesto Esaú Muñoz Casamachín Ferley Perdomo Molina Germán Roso Aristizábal Guillermo Velasco Hernán Amaya Velásquez Jacinto Chocué Jaime Alonso Gallego Gómez Jairo Alberto Díaz Salazar James Tomás Guanga Quelal Jesús Alveiro Chaves Quejuan José Albeiro Liz Muchicón José Erlery Velasco Bolaños José Miguel Mojica Conchangui Juan Carlos Rodríguez Torres Julián Arenas Leonairo Samir Montero Paz Luis Alberto Peña Luis Aurelio Araujo Hernández Luis Eduardo Cisneros Gómez Luis Fernando Mayorga Rodríguez Luz Heneida Hinestroza Marco Antonio Suárez Arroyave Marcos Yonda Toconás Pedro María Ropero...

ISLAMABAD - WWF expresses concern at the recent FIR against the former Chairperson of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) and the actions taken to cast doubt on her integrity. As an organization dedicated to protecting Pakistan’s natural heritage, WWF-Pakistan...

In the heart of the Sierra Madre, the longest and most biodiverse mountain range in the Philippines, Indigenous youth from the Dumagat-Remontado community are fighting to safeguard their ancestral land and cultural heritage. Stretching across Luzon, the country’s largest island,...

Rob Law has been tackling environmental, climate change and sustainability challenges for not-for-profit organisations, local and state governments, and universities for over 25 years. Rob produces the Planet Talks program for WOMADelaide festival and is also a writer and celebrated...

On a November morning, Julia Chuñil, 72, strode through her cabin door in Chile’s lush Los Ríos region in search of missing livestock, with her dog Cholito by her side. They never returned. As president of her Indigenous Mapuche community,...

Attacks on land and environmental defenders in the Caribbean have often been overshadowed by the dangers faced by defenders in mainland Latin America, but protecting their rights is just as crucial for preserving the environment Across the world, people who...

Jani Silva, 63, sails in a boat on the Putumayo River, on the outskirts of Puerto Asis, Colombia, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . Jani Silva sits...

While countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania account for the majority of murders and threats against environmental defenders, donors still hesitate to fund comprehensive protection networks. The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) is the third COP...

Family members and friends of Julia Chuñil display a banner that reads: “Where is Julia Chuñil?” on the land where she was last seen. Tamara Merino / Global Witness Global Witness joins organisations around the world in condemning the arrest...

Marco Antonio Zuleta Quevedo, a park ranger and forest firefighter at the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve and a collaborator with the IUCN Member organization Defensores de la Naturaleza, was found dead on the night of May 9, after...

One of the most common weapons deployed against them is the Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP). Often framed as criminal defamation, cybercrime, incitement or public order cases, SLAPPs are designed less to seek justice than to intimidate critics, drain activists financially, and discourage public scrutiny of environmentally destructive projects. Environmental activists, journalists, Indigenous leaders, lawyers and community organizations are increasingly targeted simply for exposing pollution, illegal logging, land grabs, and corporate abuse. The ultimate goal is not necessarily to win in court, but to make resistance so costly that people are forced into silence. The rise of SLAPPs reflects a wider regional crisis: shrinking civic space amid escalating environmental threats. As one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions, Southeast Asia faces intensifying floods, droughts, sea-level rise, deforestation and biodiversity loss driven by extractive industries and large-scale development projects. Yet, instead of being protected, environmental defenders are treated as obstacles to development, a practice that severely undermines transparency, public participation and environmental governance. Weak rule of law, limited judicial independence, and cozy ties between political and business elites have enabled legal systems to be weaponized against the public. Consequently, SLAPPs do not merely silence individuals; they weaken democratic governance itself...

Every three days someone is killed for defending nature. In 2025, watchdog group Global Witness documented 124 such deaths worldwide, a toll researchers say is likely only a fraction of the total number because repression and armed conflict make many deaths impossible to verify. The victims included Indigenous people, small-scale farmers and community organizers peacefully protecting forests, farmlands, waterways and other ecosystems from harm posed by companies, criminal syndicates and governments, according to the report released on Tuesday. Mining was once again the industry most often linked to the killings. Global Witness also identified alleged links to organized crime or contract killings in more than a third of the cases. In some regions, extractive industries and organized crime target the same territories. That’s playing out in parts of Colombia, according to the report, which was also released in Spanish. It remained the deadliest country for environmental defenders, with 39 people killed. Nearly half were Indigenous people, and another 15 were small-scale farmers. Many of those victims were caught in conflicts over land, illegal mining and cultivation of the coca plant grown for cocaine. The report pointed to suspected links to organized crime in 17 cases and to contract killings in...

Juma Xipaia and Joanita Babirye, two leaders from the Global South, report on violence, funding barriers, and the erasure of women in climate policy— and advocate for the conference to recognize those who support real solutions in the territories. The...