Environmental defender

Global Witness reported 1,922 murders of environmental defenders in 57 countries between 2002 and 2019, with indigenous people accounting for approximately one third of this total.

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights reported that as many as one hundred environmental defenders are intimidated, arrested or otherwise harassed for every one that is killed.

For example, the French défenseurs de l'environnement may refer to environmentalists in general and be largely applied to people in the Global North.

[1] Salient patterns include: Global Witness reported 1,922 murders of environmental defenders in 57 countries between 2002 and 2019, with indigenous people accounting for approximately one third of this total.

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights reported that as many as one hundred environmental defenders are intimidated, arrested or otherwise harassed for every one that is killed.

For example, in Colombia líderes ambientales (environmental leaders) are frequently cast as leftist radicals and targeted by paramilitary and government security forces.

[1] For example, Jessica Reznicek was prosecuted in the USA for damaging construction equipment being used to build the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the judge applied additional time to her sentence in a 'terrorism enhancement'.

These include individualisation of collective action, colonial origins of the term, and complex situations involving conservation or renewable energy projects.

For example, protection of the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been militarized, and rangers have had conflicts with local Indigenous people, leading to criticism of 'militarized conservation'.

[13] For example, hydroelectric dams are integral to many experts' plans for climate change mitigation, but they displace large numbers of people and are the most frequent causes of conflicts in the renewable energy sector.

[20] Siting of utility scale wind and solar projects also have environmental justice implications, as do resource extraction for copper, lithium, and other critical minerals required for renewable energy infrastructure.

[2] Colville scholar Dina Gilio-Whitaker points out that emphasis on the right to a healthy environment and environmental justice may presume a capitalistic commodification of land that is inconsistent with Indigenous worldviews.