Indigenous and Environmental Defenders Risk Their Lives as the Last Line Protecting the Planet

Forests along the shores of the Kitlope River. Photograph Source: Sam Beebe – CC BY 2.0

Land and environmental defenders—Indigenous leaders, farmers, conservationists, and community activists—risk their lives opposing the destructive exploitation of natural resources. Global Witness defines them as people who “take a stand… against the unjust, discriminatory, corrupt or damaging exploitation of natural resources or the environment.” Often described as the planet’s last line of defense, they protest, document, and litigate against illegal logging, mining, and pollution—frequently at grave personal risk.

The Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia illustrates this work. Heiltsuk leaders emphasize that their ancestral land is part of one of the largest intact temperate rainforests in the world, home to iconic species and a crucial carbon sink. Protecting such forests preserves biodiversity and climate stability, highlighting the global importance of local action. Yet defenders often pay a high price: coalition reports describe their work as increasingly perilous and frequently met with escalating violence.

“Standing up to injustice should never be a death sentence,” said Laura Furones, lead author of the 2025 Global Witness annual report, “Roots of Resistance.” The authors report that in 2024, at least

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