Environmental defenders

Who are environmental defenders?

The United Nations has recognized the threats to environmental defenders and called for their protection. UNEP builds on this work to support environmental defenders through its Defenders Policy, through which we:

• Denounce the attacks, torture, intimidation and murders of environmental defenders;
• Advocate with states and non-state actors, including business, for better protection of environmental rights and the people standing up for these rights;
• Support the responsible management of natural resources;
• Request government and companies’ accountability for the different events where environmental defenders have been affected / murdered.

Decade of defiance

Ten years of reporting land and environmental activism worldwide

While we at Global Witness were familiar with the targeting of our partners as they were defending their land and environment, the murder of our former colleague, Wutty, prompted us to confront a range of questions. What was the global picture, what were the implications of such attacks and what could be done to prevent them?

All over the world, Indigenous peoples and environmental defenders risk their lives for the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. Activists and communities play a crucial role as a first line of defence against ecological collapse, as well as being frontrunners in the campaign to prevent it. This report aims to share reflections on how we think about these questions now – ten years on from Wutty’s death – and makes an urgent appeal for global efforts to protect and reduce attacks against defenders.