Environmental Murder Patterns Show Indigenous Peoples Hardest Hit

Almost 100 environmental defenders have been killed so far in 2017 and indigenous communities are the ones most affected by the expansion of extractive industries.

Global Witness and the Guardian teamed up to mainstream the killings. The statistics they have recorded of the death toll are beyond alarming. On average, four activists defending their lands or natural resources die every week around the world.

Investigative Journalism Establishing Global Public Records

In this piece, you will find a comprehensive record of the victims and the reasons related to their murders. 

Many of the killings were of people trying to combat illegal logging in the Amazon region. This is visualised in an interactive map accounting for the conflicts since 2015.

What triggers this escalation of violence globally? The reporting points toward industry as the major player driving the killings and mining being at the top of the list.

Keep an eye on this journalism project to get the latest updates on this trend, which is the new battleground for human rights. You can also follow the topic on social media by jumping into the conversation using #defenddefenders.