For environmental defenders – from activists to indigenous leaders – 2016 was the deadliest year on record. International NGO and watchdog Global Witness estimate that 200 defenders were murdered last year, the highest number on record. With academics estimating 2,000 known environmental conflicts worldwide, numbers are expected to rise year on year.
‘The scramble for natural resources is intensifying,’ Billy Kyte, a campaign leader at Global Witness, told New Internationalist. ‘Increasingly, industries are encroaching onto previously untouched areas rich in resources. These industries – like mining, agriculture, hydro and logging – are coming into conflict with local communities who often have no say in what happens to their land and environment.’
