Environment fight gets murderous, two activists killed a week in 2011
In a startling finding about the battle to preserve natural resources, a study says that at least two environmental activists were killed every week in 2011.
The figures collected by Global Witness on the killings of activists, journalists and community leaders defending rights to land and forests show the struggle for the world's natural resources has become more murderous.
The death toll of green campaigners has risen dramatically in the past three years, said the NGO on its website.
At least "711 people appear to have been killed in the last decade more than one a week. In 2011, the toll was 106 people, almost doubling over the past three years", it said.
The survey comes as the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, also referred to as 'Rio20', begins in Brazil's picturesque port city of Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil, according to the survey, has the worst record for danger in a decade that has seen the deaths of more than 737 defenders.
"The highest numbers of killings were found in Brazil, Colombia, the Philippines and Peru. In these and other countries (Cambodia, DRC, Indonesia), there are sustained concerns about domestic and foreign private sector involvement in the killings of defenders.
The group called on the leaders at Rio to set up systems to monitor and counter the rising violence, which in many cases involves governments and foreign corporations, and to reduce the consumption pressures that are driving development into remote areas," said the survey.
Billy Kyte, campaigner at Global Witness said, "This trend points to the increasingly fierce global battle for resources, and represents the sharpest of wake-up calls for delegates in Rio. Over one person a week is being murdered for defending rights to forests and land."
Among the recent high-profile cases were the murders last year of two high-profile Amazon activists, Jos Cludio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espirito Santo, according to Los Angeles Times.
Last December, the UN special rapporteur on human rights noted that defenders working on land and environmental issues in connection with extractive industries and construction and development projects in the Americas face the highest risk of death as result of their human rights activities.
Source: South America News.net
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