By Maureen Harris, Senior Advisor at International Rivers
In our work around the world, International Rivers partners with people on the frontlines of ecological crisis, defending rivers, ecosystems, communities, and ways of life from destruction. For many we work with, their efforts are also a struggle for their own human rights and survival and that of their families. As the impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution intensify, the work of environmental human rights defenders is more crucial than over. Yet it is increasingly met with harassment, criminalization, and violence.
According to Global Witness’ most recent annual report, 196 land and environmental defenders were killed for their work in 2023, bringing the total number of killings to over 2100 since the organization started reporting data in 2012. Colombia was by far the deadliest, with 79 killings including 31 Indigenous people and 6 from Afrodescendent communities. Other documented murders spanned the globe – from India and the Philippines to Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United States.
But lethal attacks are just the tip of the iceberg, taking place within a much broader spectrum of harm. Other forms of retaliation against environmental defenders are seen in every region of the world, perpetrated by governments, business and non-state actors, and include intimidation, smear campaigns, violence and criminalization. The goal is clear: to deter others from speaking out and to dismantle movements that challenge environmentally destructive practices. Some of these attacks make headlines, many go unreported. Each erodes our collective ability to address environmental challenges and leaves the world more vulnerable to ecological disaster.
The prevalence of criminalization
According to Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders: “Criminalization is the most common tactic used against human rights defenders, because it’s so easy and has such a big impact.” It takes various forms, from anti-protest legislation, intimidation and judicial harassment, to arbitrary arrest, trumped-up charges, and strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).
Criminalization is a growing phenomenon, with similar tactics seen in countries from the United Kingdom and Germany to India. It drains resources and silences critical voices. The consequences are far-reaching: beyond the immediate impact on individuals, it also erodes civic space, undermines democratic principles and human rights, and prevents information about environmental threats from reaching the public.
Attacks on defenders occur within a landscape where the interests of powerful industries, political and economic actors, and the global drive for resource extraction clash with the rights of local communities and environmental protection. While the energy transition is an essential response to the climate crisis, the way it is unfolding too often follows this same logic. Large-scale energy and infrastructure projects such as hydropower dams, mining operations for “transition minerals” like lithium and copper, and expanding agribusiness continue to drive deforestation, pollution, and land grabbing. Those who try to stop it – often Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and grassroots activists – are viewed as obstacles and subjected to legal and extra-legal persecution.
Silenced voices
For over a decade, the grassroots and youth-led organization Mother Nature Cambodia has exposed corruption in Cambodia’s natural resource sector; opposing destructive infrastructure projects, halting a Chinese-led dam threatening an Indigenous community, exposing illicit sand mining and exports, and mobilizing young people to defend the country’s rich ecosystems and biodiversity which face rampant extraction and deforestation. The group was awarded the prestigious Right Livelihood Award in 2023, “for fearless and engaging activism to preserve Cambodia’s natural environment in the context of a highly restricted democratic space.”
In July 2024, Cambodian courts sentenced ten Mother Nature activists to prison terms of 6 to 8 years, on charges of plotting against the state and lese majeste. Five young environmental defenders, aged 24-35, were immediately imprisoned; others were sentenced in absentia. “The Clearing”, a powerful new film from Mongabay, movingly tells the story of their fearless work and criminalization.
Environmental defenders and climate change
The climate crisis and its impacts and responses, from the global energy transition to water scarcity and conflict, are increasing pressures on ecosystems, frontline communities and environmental defenders alike. When the people who possess traditional knowledge and direct experience of ecological harm and degradation are silenced, the world loses vital sources of insight and advocacy.
In Arunachal Pradesh, northeast India, Indigenous Adi communities face the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, a hydroelectric project consisting of several dams on the Siang River, in the ecologically fragile lower Himalayan region. The project, if built, will be the largest on the Indian subcontinent and cause massive displacement as well as loss of livelihoods and biodiversity. It is expected to hold 9 billion cubic meters of water and have a generating capacity of around 12,500MW.
The Adi communities are extremely concerned about the project’s impacts and have engaged in peaceful protest to oppose its construction, calling for dialogue and recognition of their rights as Indigenous Peoples. In May 2025, work commenced on pre-feasibility studies in the project area and India’s Central Armed Police Force were deployed in the project sites and surrounds, halting protests and curtailing community movement. Residents in some villages are being pressured to sign MOUs agreeing to the study, without the consent or knowledge of Project Affected Families, others are losing their jobs due to participation in anti-dam protests. These represent direct violations of the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) as Indigenous Peoples under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
In Vietnam, since 2021, six climate advocates and energy experts have been imprisoned since 2021 on trumped up charges, receiving disproportionately harsh prison sentences that evidence the weaponization of laws on tax evasion and access to information. In each case, the arrests followed involvement in advocacy and other efforts to shift the country away from reliance on coal and promote renewable energy alternatives.
Among them is Dang Dinh Bach (Bach), an environmental lawyer, who co-founded one of Vietnam’s first public interest law firms and represented communities affected by environmental harm, including industrial waste, pollution from coal plants, and involuntary displacement due to hydropower dam construction. He is now serving five years in prison under harsh conditions in a prison wing usually reserved for political prisoners. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has deemed his imprisonment arbitrary and called for his immediate release.
Defending defenders
Alongside frontline communities, those who defend and support them are also at risk.
A recent report from Lawyers for Lawyers spotlights the specific and growing threats faced by environmental lawyers, and the implications for vulnerable communities and ecosystems. Case studies from around the world, Bach’s story among them, highlight threats from physical attacks and intimidation, SLAPP suits, arbitrary arrests, and baseless prosecutions, barriers to information and due process, surveillance and breaches of confidentiality.
These tactics not only obstruct lawyers’ ability to work effectively but also create a chilling effect preventing new lawyers from entering the field. Without respect for the critical role of environmental lawyers and the protection of their rights, access to justice and meaningful legal redress for environmental harm is severely undermined. These threats jeopardize the rights of both lawyers and their clients, as well as nature itself.
Ways forward
International bodies and civil society organizations have repeatedly condemned this trend. The UN Human Rights Council has recognised the critical role of environmental human rights defenders and called on states to protect them, urging them to refrain from actions that hinder their work. Regional agreements like the Escazú Agreement in Latin America and the Aarhus Convention in Europe provide legal frameworks for the protection of environmental defenders’ rights, including access to information, public participation, and justice in environmental matters. But more is urgently needed.
Governments must uphold their international human rights and environmental commitments, implementing robust legal frameworks at national level that safeguard defenders and end impunity for attacks. This includes repealing restrictive legislation, halting the weaponization of laws to criminalize environmental advocacy, ensuring fair trials, and investigating all acts of violence, intimidation, and criminalization.
International and regional organizations should champion the creation and adoption of binding legal frameworks that provide robust protection for environmental defenders. These frameworks must guarantee safety, participation, and access to justice and include strong enforcement mechanisms and state accountability.
Businesses and financial institutions must adopt and enforce zero tolerance policies for reprisals and stringent human rights and environmental due diligence policies, ensuring that their operations and supply chains do not contribute or inadvertently support the persecution of defenders. They should also establish clear grievance mechanisms and be held accountable for any complicity in harm.
Civil society organizations and the international community must increase their direct support for frontline defenders, providing legal aid, protection mechanisms, and advocacy resources. This includes amplifying their voices, documenting abuses, and fostering international solidarity to ensure their critical work can continue safely and effectively. Civil society should collaborate with Indigenous Peoples to develop tailored early warning systems and protection mechanisms that address their unique risks and contexts.
Beyond the urgent need for stronger legal frameworks and international condemnation, the work and stories of environmental defenders must be recognized and celebrated. Among our partners, Mari Luz Canaquiri Murayari, an Indigenous Kukama leader from Peru, was awarded the 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize for her tireless efforts in securing legal personhood for the Marañón River, celebrating a landmark victory that protects a vital Amazonian tributary. And despite his unjust imprisonment, Bach was honored with the 2024 Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty, recognizing his commitment to environmental justice and his courageous advocacy for communities. This recognition elevates the critical role of environmental defenders in the public imagination and inspires collective action and support.
Feature photo: Dang Dinh Bach