List of environmental killings

Environmental killings are murders, assassinations, or other unlawful killings which are linked to environmental issues such as illegal logging, mining, land grabbing, pollution etc. Victims have included not only environmental and land rights activists, but also members of indigenous communities and journalists who have reported on these issues.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Statements

In 2003, the Environmental Justice Foundation reported that in at least 11 countries people had been murdered for opposing shrimp farming and its associated environmental impacts.^[4]

According to Global Witness, the number of environmental killings worldwide reached 147 in 2012, and the total number of such murders between 2002 and 2013 exceeds 908.^[1] In only six of these cases were the killers tried, convicted and punished. The report blames this level of impunity, together with the lack of attention to the issue, for the rise in the numbers of deaths.

In March 2014, when the United Nations Independent Expert on human rights and the environment, John Knox, presented his first detailed report to the UN Human Rights Council on the human rights obligations relating to environmental protection he stated: “Environmental human rights defenders deserve no less protection than other human rights defenders.”^[5]^[6]

List of killings

Following is a list of the victims of environmental killings by date:

20th century

More information Date, Activist name ...

Date	Activist name	Country	Cause
July 8, 1905	Guy Bradley	United States	Birds protection^[7]
November 3, 1942	Ernest Gibbins	Uganda	Entomologist killed by tribesmen
July 31, 1977	Vital Michalon	France	killed by police in a demonstration against the fast breeder nuclear reactor at Malville
June 3, 1979	Gladys del Estal	Spain	Anti-nuclear ecologist activist killed by a Civil Guardsman during a demonstration against a nuclear power plant and an aircraft firing range.
July 21, 1980	Wilson Pinheiro	Brazil	Preservation of the Amazon rainforest
May 13, 1985	John Africa, Rhonda Africa, Theresa Africa, Frank Africa, Conrad Africa, Tree Africa, Delisha Africa, Netta Africa, Little Phil Africa, Tomaso Africa, and Raymond Africa	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Police bombing of MOVE (racial and environmental justice) organization headquarters
July 10, 1985	Fernando Pereira	New Zealand	Protest against nuclear testing
c. December 26, 1985	Dian Fossey	Rwanda	Mountain gorilla conservationist
April 6, 1987	Vicente Cañas	Brazil	Protection of Enawene Nawe people land
December 22, 1988	Chico Mendes	Brazil	Preservation of the Amazon rainforest
August 20, 1989	George Adamson	Kenya	Conservationist most recognized for his work on lions
1 September 1990	Seub Nakhasathien	Thailand	Suicide to signify the importance of the environment
February 6, 1995	Jeannette Kawas	Honduras	Protests again palm plantations and dams
November 10, 1995	Ken Saro-Wiwa	Nigeria	nonviolent campaign against environmental degradation caused by crude oil extraction

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21st century

In the 21st century, more than 1000 environmental activists have been killed.^{[citation needed]} Every year, more than 100 environmental activists are murdered throughout the world.^[8] 116 environmental activists were assassinated in 2014.^[9] More than two environmentalists were assassinated every week in 2014 and three every week in 2015.^[10]^[11] 185 environmental activists were assassinated in 2015.^[12] More than 200 environmental activists were assassinated worldwide between 2016 and 2018.^[13] In 2019 and 2020 the number was 212^[14]^[15] and 227^[16]^[17] respectively.