Defending territories, Defending our lives

The report documents the risks faced by 'Defenders of Territories' in the Asia Pacific, linking violence and impunity to resource extraction, infrastructure projects, and weak rule of law. Through case studies in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Palestine, Russia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines, it illustrates how corporate and state actors displace communities and suppress dissent. The document advocates for a systemic shift away from neoliberalism toward agroecology and renewable energy, while calling for a binding UN Treaty on transnational corporations to ensure accountability for human rights violations.

• Environmental human rights defenders, particularly indigenous and peasant populations, face extreme risks, with some reports indicating they are nearly three times more likely to be assaulted than defenders in other sectors.
• The report identifies a strong correlation between the killing of defenders and areas of natural resource extraction in countries with weak rule of law, specifically in the agriculture, logging, mining, water, and dam sectors.
• In Bangladesh, the 1,320 MW coal-fired power plant at Rampal is described as a 'development disaster' due to its proximity to the Sundarbans mangrove forest, causing forest clearance, water pollution, and the displacement of 4,000 families.
• Indonesia's 'Jakarta Bandung' Fast Train project and the associated Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Walini are linked to large-scale land grabbing, unemployment, and the displacement of local people without adequate consultation.
• Malaysia is experiencing 'ocean grabbing' through massive coastal reclamation projects in states like Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, and Perak, which destroy marine biodiversity and eliminate the livelihoods of fishing communities.
• Research in the Hebron region of Palestine indicates high levels of nuclear radiation contamination, including radioactive uranium-238 and caesium-137, allegedly emanating from Israeli nuclear activities and waste dumping.
• The Russian state corporation Rosatom is expanding its nuclear exports globally while maintaining a history of domestic nuclear crises and using 'Foreign Agents' laws to silence anti-nuclear activists.
• In Sri Lanka, defenders of environmental rights face criminalisation and violence, particularly those protesting against garbage dumping, mini hydropower projects, and the Chinese-owned Colombo Port City.
• In the Philippines, the expansion of the coffee industry has led to violent land grabs from indigenous peoples, exemplified by the 2017 massacre of eight T’boli Manobo leaders by the military.
• The China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is identified as a major concern due to its lack of environmental standards and the increased risk of debt distress in countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Laos, the Maldives, Mongolia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tajikistan.
• The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) is criticized as being ineffective because its design is based on non-intervention and consensus, preventing it from naming or shaming member states for human rights violations.

APA

Hall, R., de Vera, R., Lingam, T., & Cossar-Gilbert, S. (2019). Defending territories, Defending our lives. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Protecting-Human-rights-and-the-Environment-in-Asia-Pacific-through-System-Change-Friends-of-the-Earth.pdf

Chicago

Hall, Ronnie, Romel de Vera, Theiva Lingam, and Sam Cossar-Gilbert. Defending territories, Defending our lives. Friends of the Earth International, 2019. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Protecting-Human-rights-and-the-Environment-in-Asia-Pacific-through-System-Change-Friends-of-the-Earth.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hall |first1=Ronnie |last2=de Vera |first2=Romel |last3=Lingam |first3=Theiva |last4=Cossar-Gilbert |first4=Sam |title=Defending territories, Defending our lives |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=November 2019 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Protecting-Human-rights-and-the-Environment-in-Asia-Pacific-through-System-Change-Friends-of-the-Earth.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hall2019defending, author = {Hall, Ronnie and de Vera, Romel and Lingam, Theiva and Cossar-Gilbert, Sam}, title = {{Defending territories, Defending our lives}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2019}, month = nov, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Protecting-Human-rights-and-the-Environment-in-Asia-Pacific-through-System-Change-Friends-of-the-Earth.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }