Number of environmental activists killed in Brazil doubled in 2025

Colombia and Brazil have concentrated 52% of the murders of environmental defenders registered in the world in the last year, with 39 and 26 victims, respectively. Much of the homicides in Brazil are linked to land disputes, a historical source of tension between indigenous communities and large rural owners.

“ One can kill people because one is sure that it will go unpunished, it is almost a license to kill”, denounced the agency France-Press Carlos Lima, of the Pastoral Commission of the Earth, an organization that defends the rights of peasants and indigenous peoples. “In general, whoever orders a murder does not do time, is not arrested,” he added.

For the fourth consecutive year, Colombia appears as the most violent country in the world for environmental activists, also subject to pressure and threats from armed groups dedicated to illegal mining.

In Latin America, the most deadly region for environmental defenders, most victims are indigenous (36%) and farmers (40%). The risk is particularly high in remote areas where the presence of the State is limited, the report underlines.

In total, 124 murders of environmental activists have been recorded worldwide in the last year. Honduras and the Philippines are third on the list, with 12 deaths each, followed by Mexico, with 10 victims.

Since 2012, when Global Witness began the survey, the number of environmental defenders killed or missing in the world amounted to 2,375 people.