Activists and most notably, journalists combating environmental destruction face constant threats, harassment and sometimes even murder. It is truly a risky endeavour.
Numerous reports demonstrate that those who dare to defend the environment around the world jeopardise their very lives.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF/RWB), two environmental correspondents are killed annually on average with homicides typically related to investigations pertaining to deforestation, illegal mining, land seizures, pollution and other environmental impacts caused by industrial activities and significant infrastructural construction projects, by both private entities and government.
From 2015 to 2020, RSF documented 53 violations of the right to protect the environment, including attempted murder, threats and harassment, illegal imprisonment and abduction.
RSF reports that 66% of violations against environmental journalists occurred in Asia and the Americas, although such violations occurred on all continents. This does not mean that other regions are safer; it may just mean that these crimes are reported more in the Americas and Asia.
India retains the record for the number of journalists who have been murdered, assaulted physically, and subjected to threats and prosecution. Almost every one of these cases is linked to the country’s alleged “sand mafia”.
“There is a growing global awareness that sand, after water, is the most valuable natural resource, and because it is limited in supply, it is in high demand,” Indian journalist Sandhya Ravishankar stated to RSF.
“When journalists report on such a valuable resource and place pressure on authorities to halt sand mining, it poses a threat to numerous powerful industries and industrialists whose livelihoods rely on sand.”
Ravishankar asserted that this is why there is so much violence against journalists who report on illicit sand mining.
“Environmental journalism has become considerably more dangerous than it was in the past,” says Peter Schwartzstein, an RSF expert on environmental issues. “I believe this is largely due to the growing awareness of the importance of the environment.”
According to the organisation, Global Witness, activists and indigenous people defending their homes, land, and means of subsistence were subjected to 227 fatal assaults in 2020, an average of more than four a week.
According to Global Witness, nearly three quarters of recorded attacks in Brazil and Peru occurred in the Amazon region of each country.
Environment