Top 10 Countries with the Highest Number of Environmental Activist Killings in 2023

A Global Witness report reveals that the murder of environmental activists remains rampant worldwide through 2023.

From 2012 to 2023, Global Witness counted at least 2,106 murdered environmental activists. In 2023 alone, 196 environmental defenders were killed.

Colombia was the most dangerous country for environmental activists, with 79 killed in 2023 and a cumulative total of 461 since 2012.

Global Witness stated that the 2023 data represents 40% of all reported killings.

"This is the highest annual total for any country documented by Global Witness since we began documenting cases in 2012," wrote Global Witness in a report cited on Friday, September 13, 2024.

Global Witness also explained that 31 of those killed in Colombia in 2023 were Indigenous people, and six were members of the Afro-descendant community.

Brazil had the second-highest number of murdered environmental activists, with 25 in 2023 and a cumulative total of 401 since 2012.

Honduras followed with 18 killings in 2023 and a total of 149 over the 11-year period.

Mexico also recorded 18 killings in 2023, followed by the Philippines with 17, the only Southeast Asian country in the top 10.

Other countries included Nicaragua (10), India (5), Guatemala (4), Panama (4), and Peru (4).

Protection of Environmental Activists in Indonesia

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) recently issued Ministerial Regulation No. 10 of 2024, providing protection for environmental defenders. According to Katadata, the regulation states that individuals advocating for environmental protection cannot be criminally prosecuted or sued civilly.

"Individuals advocating for environmental protection cannot be criminally prosecuted or sued civilly," as quoted from Article 2 of the KLHK Ministerial Regulation No. 10 of 2024, on Friday, September 13, 2024.

The regulation was signed by Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya on August 30, 2024, and officially enacted on September 4, 2024.

Responding to this, Public Engagement & Actions Manager of Greenpeace Indonesia, Khalisa Khalid, welcomed the KLHK Ministerial Regulation, although she noted it was overdue.

This is considering the long-standing calls from environmental organizations for derivative regulations from Article 66 of the Environmental Protection and Management Law (UU PPLH), dating back to the early years of President Jokowi's administration.

"The draft of this Ministerial Regulation has been pending for quite some time, resulting in an increasing number of environmental defenders being criminalized," she told Katadata on Thursday, September 12, 2024.

(See also: [There were 133 cases of threats against environmental activists in the last decade])