Monday 23 / June / 2025
Manila: A total of 164 land and environmental activists were killed last year according to a report by the international NGO, Global Witness. Global Witness found that in 2018 an average of more than three activists were killed every week defending land from invasion by industries such as mining, logging, and agribusiness. The Philippines, with 30 activists killed, saw the highest number of fatalities last year. "While this crisis is serious, it is not new. Vast natural resources and fertile soils have long attracted foreign investment to the Philippines, yet widespread corruption and a culture of impunity for unscrupulous companies has seen the profits disappear into the pockets of a tiny elite," the report stated. According to the report, the Philippines was followed by Colombia, where 24 environmental activists were killed last year. India was third on the list, with 23 fatalities in 2018. "As the threat to our planet grows, and we belatedly wake up to the scale of the crisis that human activity has created, environmental protest is becoming more mainstream. The connections between our food, manufacturing and environmental systems are better understood, and increasingly people are voicing their concerns," it stated. "We can never undo the sacrifices made by those documented in this report or the damage done to their loved ones. But we can ensure their deaths were not entirely in vain by calling on our governments to urgently tackle the problems that they put their lives on the line to highlight. "We should protect and empower the courageous individuals who follow their lead - for their sake and for ours," the report states.
