Dying To Protect The Planet

Last year, 197 people were murdered for their work to protect the environment – and 2018 is shaping up to be another violent year.

These are the stories of a few notable murders in recent months.

Photo: Esmond Bradley Martin, 1941–2018

Esmond Bradley Martin: Fighting Elephant & Rhino Poachers

Mr. Martin played a crucial role in bringing the international black market to global attention, as the first researcher to document the movements of elephant ivory and rhino horn – allowing conservationists to put hard data behind a trade that had only been described anecdotally until he began his work. Source: The Guardian (Approx. 6 minutes)

Berta Cáceres: Protecting Indigenous Land From Development

Ms. Cáceres opposed the construction of a dam on the Gualcarque River in western Honduras, which would have displaced the indigenous Lenca people (Cáceres herself was of Lenca origin), and jeopardized the community’s water resources and livelihood. Source: The New York Times (Approx. 12 minutes)

Ruben Arzaga: On A Crusade To Stop Deforestation

Mr. Arzaga was murdered in the Philippines as he tried to approach illegal loggers on Palawan island, a popular tourist destination. Arzaga was an elected village captain in Palawan’s tourist town of El Nido, and had been trying to confiscate illegally cut timber as part of a personal crusade to stop rampant deforestation. Source: Rappler.com (Approx. 3 minutes)

Wayne Lotter: Focusing On Community-Based Conservation

Mr. Lotter helped train thousands of village game scouts in South Africa and Tanzania, and developed an “intelligence-based approach” to anti-poaching. The strategy, which largely focuses on using informants and surveillance techniques to combat repeat offenders, has helped reduce rampant poaching on the African continent. Source: LA Times (Approx. 5 minutes)

Isidro Baldenegro López: Following In His Father’s Footsteps

Like his father before him, Mr. López spent much of his life campaigning against illegal logging in the Sierra Madre region of northern Mexico – also like his father, López was murdered while defending the forests which belong to his native Tarahumara people. Source: The Economist (Approx. 5 minutes)

Santiago Maldonado: Defending Ancestral Lands of the Mapuche

Mr. Maldonado disappeared during a clash with police while supporting Mapuche protestors in their struggle to regain control of ancestral lands in Patagonia now held by Italian clothing giant Benetton. His body was found three months later, under mysterious circumstances that some believe point to a murder cover-up. Source: Al Jazeera (Approx. 8 minutes)

Ali and Aysin Büyüknohutçu: Organizing Against Opencast Mining

The married couple purchased a house in the countryside to pursue farming and beekeeping in their retirement – only to discover the pristine environment of their new home was threatened by a nearby opencast marble quarry. They organized a successful campaign to revoke the licenses to two nearby mines — and shortly after winning their court case, the couple were found murdered in their home. Source: The Guardian (Approx. 8 minutes)

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Your must-read guide to environmental issues, published by the SEAL Awards (an environmental advocacy organization that hosts environmental journalism awards and business sustainability awards).