Land and environmental rights defenders in danger: an overview of recent cases

The report documents a pattern of violence and judicial harassment against land and environmental rights defenders in 2013. It argues that these individuals are particularly vulnerable as global competition for land and resources increases, often facing threats from government forces and corporations. The document provides specific case studies from Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia, detailing arrests, murders, and forced evictions linked to opposition against extractive industries, mega-projects, and agribusiness.

• Land and environmental rights defenders are identified as the second most vulnerable group in terms of the risk of being killed.
• Defenders of land and environmental rights are frequently targeted with criminalization, arbitrary detention, and violence, particularly those supporting marginalized groups like indigenous peoples.
• The vulnerability of these defenders is driven by accelerating global competition for land and resources, where economic development often relies on the exploitation of natural resources for export.
• State and corporate actors often stigmatize defenders of large-scale development projects, labeling them as enemies of the state or anti-development.
• In the Russian Federation, 30 Greenpeace activists known as the 'Arctic 30' were arrested in September 2013 while protesting oil drilling and climate change at a Gazprom oil rig.
• Colombia experienced multiple killings and arrests of defenders in 2013, including the murder of Elver Cordero Oviedo in April and Nelson Giraldo Posada in September, the latter of whom opposed the Hidroituango hydroelectric project.
• In the Philippines, indigenous leaders and activists have been killed or disappeared while opposing mining and palm oil projects, including the murders of B'laan Tribe chieftains Anting Freay and Sonny Boy Planda.
• In Burma, the Shwe Gas Project has led to significant human rights abuses, including forced labour and land confiscation, with defenders facing imprisonment under the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2013). Land and environmental rights defenders in danger: an overview of recent cases. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/Compilation_LER_HRD_Dec2013.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Land and environmental rights defenders in danger: an overview of recent cases. 2013. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/Compilation_LER_HRD_Dec2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Land and environmental rights defenders in danger: an overview of recent cases |date=December 2013 |url=https://www.ciel.org/Publications/Compilation_LER_HRD_Dec2013.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2013land, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Land and environmental rights defenders in danger: an overview of recent cases}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2013}, month = dec, url = {https://www.ciel.org/Publications/Compilation_LER_HRD_Dec2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }