Jonila Castro is an activist who works with AKAP Ka Manila Bay, a group that helps displaced communities next to Manila’s fast developing port maintain their livelihoods and homes. In recent years, projects such as the $15-billion New Manila International Airport have been accused of destroying mud flats and fishponds, and have already displaced hundreds of families and fishermen who rely on the waters of Manila Bay for a living. Castro’s work is focused on supporting these communities and dealing with the environmental impacts of development.
But on a rainy night in September, Castro and a friend, as they ended their day advocating for the rights of fishing communities, allegedly kidnapped by the Philippine military for their work.
“They covered our mouths and brought us to a secret detention facility,” she said. The military interrogators asked them questions about their work in environmental justice, and accused them of being communists. “This is actually the situation of many activists and environmental defenders here in the Philippines.”
Castro and her friend were eventually released two weeks later, but in December 2023, the Philippine Department of Justice filed charges against them for portraying the Philippine military in a “bad light”. The military denied Castro’s accusations.
A new study of Global Witnessan international organization that focuses on human rights and documenting violations, finds that tactics like Castro experienced are happening to land defenders across the planet, often with deadly consequences. In 2023, nearly 200 environmental activists were killed for exercising their right to protect their lands and environment from harm. These killings are often carried out alongside acts of intimidation, smear campaigns and criminalization by governments and often in collaboration with companies. The report says violence is often accompanied by land acquisition strategies linked to the development interests of agricultural, fossil fuel and green energy companies.
“Governments around the world, not just in the Philippines, have an obligation to protect any of their citizens,” said Laura Furones, lead author of the report. “Some governments are failing spectacularly to do that, and even become complicit in some of those attacks or provide an operating environment for companies.”
Indigenous peoples are the most vulnerable to these tactics. Last year, about half of those killed for their environmental activism were indigenous or Afro-descendants. Between 2012 and 2023, nearly 800 indigenous people were killed to protect their lands or resources, representing more than a third of all environmental defenders killed around the world in the same time frame.
Colombia has the highest death toll of environmental land protectors, and the number will increase in 2023. There are 79 documented cases, representing the highest annual total for which Global Witness has been responsible since 2012. Of those cases, 31 people were Indigenous. Other Latin American countries such as Brazil, Honduras and Mexico have consistently had the most documented cases of killings of environmental defenders.
Furones said with the rise of green energy projects, mining will continue to grow, and with it the potential for violence against land protectors. According to Global Witness, mining operations caused the most loss of life, and while most of these deaths occurred in Latin American countries last year, between 2012 and 2023, many occurred in Asia. Around 40 percent of mining-related murders have occurred in Asia since 2012 and the report indicates that there are many mineral resources in Asia that are important for green energy technology.
“The region has significant natural reserves of important critical minerals essential for clean energy technologies, including nickel, tin, rare-earth elements and bauxite,” the report said. “This may be good news for the energy transition, but without drastic changes to mining practices, it could also increase pressure on defenders.”
This year the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Affairs also looked at the rise of criminalization facing land protectorswhile reporting from the forum has shown that very little has been done to protect indigenous peoples’ rights over the past decade. A recent report of Climate Rights Internationalalso on the criminalization of climate activism with a focus on Western democracies, such as Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States, found that governments violate basic principles of freedom of expression and assembly to crack down on climate activists. . In the United Kingdom, for example, five people have associated with the group Just stop oil were sentenced to four and five years in prison for “conspiracy to cause a public nuisance” by blocking a major road in London to draw attention to the abundant use of fossil fuels. These are the longest sentences ever handed down for non-violent protests in Britain. Taken together, the reports highlight how criminalization has become a strategy to discredit climate activists.
In the Philippines, Jonila Castro said she will continue to protect the people and places of Manila, but she is not going anywhere alone and said she feels like she is always looking over her shoulder. She is currently facing six months in prison for her activities.
“I think the government thinks that we will be silenced because we are facing charges,” she said. “But I can’t think of a reason not to continue, and it’s the same with many of the environmentalists and activists here.”
