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Latin America continues to be the world's most perilous region for environmental activism, accounting for an overwhelming 85 percent of all lethal attacks documented against land and nature protectors in 2025, according to a comprehensive annual study released by the human rights group Global Witness.
The international advocacy organization reported that at least 124 land and environmental defenders were killed across the globe last year. Of that global total, 105 fatal attacks occurred within Latin American borders, where escalating disputes surrounding ancestral territories and natural resource extraction placed Indigenous populations and rural agricultural workers in severe danger.
Colombia maintained its status as the single deadliest country on Earth for ecological advocates for the fourth consecutive year. The nation registered 39 confirmed killings in 2025, demonstrating the persistent mortal hazards faced by grassroots leaders who mobilize against destructive commercial and industrial activities.
Brazil recorded the second-highest casualty count internationally with 26 documented homicides. This represented a dramatic spike from the previous year, with lethal violence against environmental defenders in the country more than doubling from the 12 deaths recorded in 2024.
Taken together, Colombia and Brazil accounted for more than half of the worldwide death toll, representing 52 percent of all killings cataloged by researchers. The concentration of violence underscores the lethal friction occurring along South America's agricultural and resource frontiers.
Other nations outside the top two also registered significant numbers of casualties. Honduras and the Philippines each documented 12 killings of environmental advocates in 2025, highlighting that the deadly risks to conservationists and land stewards span multiple continents.
National trends showed sharp variations across Latin America. While violence surged in Brazil and doubled in Honduras from its previous annual count, other countries experienced declines. Colombia’s toll dropped from 48 fatalities in 2024 to 39 in 2025, and Mexico recorded a substantial reduction from 19 killings down to 10.
On a global scale, the total number of documented killings dropped for the second year in a row. Worldwide figures fell from 196 deaths in 2023 to 142 killings and four disappearances in 2024, before reaching 124 lethal cases in the latest report.
Despite this overall numerical decrease, Global Witness cautioned against interpreting the trend as an indicator of genuine safety improvements. The group emphasized that non-lethal threats remain pervasive, incidents remain heavily underreported, and rural communities continue to endure severe intimidation when defending their ancestral territory, rivers, and forests.
The watchdog defines land and environmental defenders as people working peacefully to safeguard their surrounding ecosystems and communities from harmful developments, including illicit logging, industrial agriculture, and mining operations. These activists frequently organize local resistance, patrol conservation areas, and gather evidence of environmental harm.
The burden of this violence fell disproportionately on marginalized and rural populations. According to the report, more than three-quarters of the defenders killed in 2025 belonged to Indigenous communities, smallholder farming households, or Afro-descendant populations.
Specifically, the report detailed that 47 of the victims were small-scale farmers and 44 were Indigenous people. Among the Indigenous victims, seven were active participants in community guard networks organized specifically to safeguard communal lands from external incursions.
The lethal reality facing Indigenous protectors was exemplified by the killing of Vicente Fernandes Vilhalva, a 36-year-old member of Brazil's Guarani Kaiowa Indigenous people. Vilhalva was fatally shot during an armed assault on his community in Mato Grosso do Sul in November amid an ongoing struggle to reclaim ancestral lands.
A similar dynamic unfolded in Colombia, where Indigenous defenders comprised almost half of the 39 individuals murdered during the year. An additional 15 Colombian victims were small-scale farmers defending their local habitats against encroaching interests.
Disputes over land tenure and territory served as the primary catalyst for violence, linked directly to 84 killings—representing more than half of the worldwide total. Extractive industries and mining operations were tied to 11 homicides, while commercial logging accounted for eight deaths and large-scale agribusiness was linked to six.
The report also highlighted the extensive involvement of criminal syndicates, noting that organized crime groups and contracted hitmen were suspected of carrying out more than a third of the killings. This demonstrates a growing nexus between criminal networks and the unlawful exploitation of natural assets.
Since beginning its systematic monitoring efforts in 2012, Global Witness has compiled records on 2,375 killings and disappearances of environmental defenders. To verify its annual findings, the organization collaborates with more than 30 partner groups across more than 20 countries, cross-referencing field data with official judicial records and independent press reports.
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