They Point to Latin America as a High-Risk Region for Ecologists

To be opposed to mining, forestry or agribusiness projects, at least 207 people died in the world in 2017, of which nearly 60% in Latin America and especially in Brazil, according to the report. NGO Global Witness.

This equilibrium recorded in 22 countries is undoubtedly below reality, according to the report "At what price?", Published by the British NGO. The figure also exceeds the record of 2016, with at least 200 deaths.

The victims were local chiefs protecting wildlife or "ordinary people" defending their land.

Brazil recorded the worst balance, with 57 dead, with three mbadacres in which 25 people died. This balance was questioned by the Brazilian government, which accused the agency of using "false, inflated and fragile data and a dubious methodology".

The second country that has killed the most ecologists is the Philippines (48). Global Witness warns against the dramatic increase in deaths in Mexico (there were only three in 2006) where "the increase in organized crime, the continuation of the Impunity and the government's inability to protect environmentalists have led to the "brutal silence" of those who oppose, for example, logging or mining. [19659003] Peru also recorded a significant leap from 2 to 8 deaths per year, while Nicaragua was the most affected country in relation to its population (4).

In Honduras, on the other hand, the number of deaths has risen from 14 in 2016 to 5 in 2017, although "Growth The repression of civil society has restricted what defenders can say and do," according to the report of the NGO, whose Activity began in 2002.

In total, a killing of four out of four world ecologists (at least 46, twice as much as in 2016) was related to the agri-food industry. Forty due to mining conflicts (33 in 2016), 26 linked to deforestation and a record of 23, mainly African forest rangers, for attempting to protect animals from poachers.

For Global Witness, the link between this Violence and the products of habitual consumption are clear: " Large-scale farming, mining, poaching and l & # 39; logging produces household items that we use and consume: palm oil for shampoo, soy for meat, wood for our furniture. "

There was also a resurgence of violence against those who defend their land against "destructive" agriculture according to the NGO, which criticizes governments "careless" and "irresponsible" companies to put the benefits and consumer demand before "human life".

The report underlines, among other things, the death of Colombian leader Hernán Bedoya Afro-descendant of Chocó (north-west), killed by a paramilitary group that shot him 14 times, for his death. be opposed to the oil palm, banana plantations and cattle farms that spread out on the territory of his community, destroying the forest.

The Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, author of the popular Dystopia " The Tale of the Good ", these stories "shock individually." Collectively, they show us an epidemic of violence against the defenders of the Earth. "

Brazil accuses the NGO of using" false news "

The NGO warns that not only badbadinations take place, but an arsenal to muzzle opponents: death threats, arrests, persecutions, cyberattacks, badual violence and disappearances.

In Brazil, peasants armed with machetes and rifles wounded 22 Gamela Indians, whose lands they wanted. According to the report, some victims have been cut.

Because of this incident, no one was brought to justice, "which reflects a great culture of impunity and inaction on the part of the Brazilian government to support the defenders of Human Rights ", continues

The Brazilian Presidency accused Global Witness of " distorting the facts ", without investigating the alleged " false news used to attack the government " and attributing agrarian disputes, which in many cases would have been account adjustments between drug traffickers.

The Presidency statement states further that "agribusiness generates a good deal of employment and income of the country" and that it "can not be generalized without foundation to all Brazilian farmers, crimes that constitute localized cases. "